^3 


GIFT  OF 
A.    P.    Morrison 


1^0' ^^.^j^^    ^/^     ^  y:pjc<&  yjp^ 


/    * 


<C>^5^s^ 


5^7^^" 


TOlegmoutb  Wn^s  anD  "QdeBmoutb  people. 


REMINISCENCES 


BY 


EDMUND  SOPER  HUNT 


> »     \ ,  * 


BOSTON 
PRIVATELY  PRINTED 
1907. 


/     i 


LPRINTERS ' 


TWO    HUNDRED    AND    FIFTY 
COPIES   PRINTED. 


V 


GIFT  OP 


I    DEDICATE 

THIS     VOLUME    OF     REMINISCENCES 

TO 

MY     GOOD     WIFE. 


IV1107810 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I 

In  the  "Thirties":  —  Introduction  —  My  School  Days — 
The  Olden  Times  —  Thanksgiving — Business  —  From  the 
Arnold  Tavern  down  Commercial  Street  —  Along  Front 
Street — Garfield  Square  —  Pond  Meadow  and  Nantasket — 
Music  in  the  Union  Church  and  the  Union  Singing  Society 

—  Revivals — In  East  Braintree  —  My  First  School-house 

—  The  Old  Toll-house  —  Col.  Minot  Thayer's  Farm  —  My 
Home  —  Business  Men  of  the  Village  —  My  Books  and 
Library 9-64 

CHAPTER   II 

In  the  "Forties":  —  The  Harrison  Campaign  —  The  Cold 
Water  Army  —  Abolitionists  —  Fires  and  Fire  Engines  — 
The  Band  —  Business  —  Windmills  —  Dances  —  Manufac- 
turing —  Jour.  Tramps  —  Petition  for  Railroad  —  Flying 
Machines  —  Tilden's  Launching  —  Politics  and  Postmas- 
ters —  The  Old  Amazon  and  its  Trials  —  The  Forty-Niners 

—  New  Doctors  —  The  OM  Union  Bank  —  Henry  Clay      .       65-99 

CHAPTER    III 

In  the  "  Fifties  " :  —  The  Year  1850  —  Political  Events  — 
Kossuth  —  Fugitive  Slave  Law  —  Changes  in  the  Village  — 
World's  Fair  of  1853  —  Noted  Lecturers  —  Anthony  Bums 

—  The  Know-Nothings  —  The  Marshfield  Fair — Free- 
masonry—  Gen.  Banks — Sumner  and  Brooks  —  The  Kan- 
sas Crusade  —  Town  Officers  in  1854  —  My  Own  Business 

—  My  First  Fireworks 100-138 

CHAPTER    IV 

In  the  "  Sixties  " :  —  The  Election  of  Lincoln — Outbreak  of 
the  Civil  War  —  Enlistments  in  the  Old  Town  Hall  —  At  the 
Weymouth  Fairs —  Muff  and  Tom —  Purchase  of  Prince  — 
Manufacture  of  Fans 139-152 


6  Contents. 

CHAPTER  V 
In  the  "Seventies":  —  Financial  Troubles — My  Invention 
of  a  Life-saving  Projectile  —  Exhibition  in  Mechanics'  Fair, 
1878  —  Invention  of  the  Colored  Shell  and  Sun  Wheel  — 
Lieut.  Lyle's  Visit  —  My  Trip  to  England  —  Observations 
in  London  —  Bedford  Park  — Whitehall  Palace —  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral  —  Temple   Bar  —  Whitechapel  —  At   Greenwich 

—  Billingsgate  —  At  Faversham  —  A  Shipwreck  at  Tyne- 
mouth  —  Testing  the  Hunt  Projectile  at  Shoeburyness  — 
Return  in  1880 153-188 

CHAPTER  VI 
In  the  "Eighties"  :  —  At  Nauset  —  Displays  of  Fireworks  at 
Nantasket  —  Visit  to  New  Orleans  —  Southern  Cities  —  My 
Projectile  and  the  Final  Test  at  Nantucket  —  Last  Letter 
from  Mr.  Crowninshield 189-202 

CHAPTER  VII 
Miscellaneous   Events:  —  Religious   Societies  —  The   Sab- 
bath —  Old  North  Meeting  House  —  Organization  of  Uni- 
versalist  Church  —  The  Old  Account  Book  —  Occupations 

—  May  Training  —  How  to  Celebrate  Old  Home  Week  — 
"  Truth  " —  Reply  to  "  Truth  " —  Comments  on  Newspaper 
Clippings  —  The  Amazons  and  the  Tigers  —  Business  at 
the  Landing  —  Mothers'  Meetings  —  The  Lawrences  —  Our 
High  School  —  Natural  Beauty  of  Our  Village  —  History 
of  Weymouth  —  Address  of  Charles  Francis  Adams  —  His 
Errors  —  What  an  Old  Man  Can  Do  —  What  a  Young 
Man  Can  Do  —  The  Professions  —  Utopia  —  Fine  Old 
Elms  —  At  the  Opera — Our  Great  Novelists  —  The  Old 
Hunt  Burying  Ground  —  Nathan  W.  Dickerman  —  Gover- 
nor Boutwell  and  Senator  Hoar  —  Occupations  for  Women 

—  Manufacturing  Fire  Crackers  —  Old-time  Musicians  — 
The  Great  Ship  Canal  —  Our  State  Flower  —  Civil  Service 
in  Utopia — My  Dog  Rab  —  Memorial  Day,   1905  —  How 

to  Grow  Roses 203-285 

CHAPTER  VIII 
Ancestral  Gleanings  :  —  Origin  of  the  Hunt  Family  —  Col. 
William  Hunt  —  My  Search  in  Old  Duxbury  —  A  Strange 
Occurrence  —  The  Return  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt    .     .  286-295 

Addenda 296 

Index  of  Names 297-307 


FOREWORD. 


HAVE  written  down,  from  time  to  time,  during  the 
past  few  years,  my  reminiscences  of  the  old  days  of 
Weymouth,  and  of  the  towns-people  of  sixty  years  ago 
and  more,  which  are  included  in  this  volume  together  with  other 
letters,  mostly  printed  in  the  Weymouth  Gazette,  on  different  phases 
of  life  such  as  prevailed  here,  and  perhaps  were  a  fair  example  of 
New  England  village  life  in  the  early  years  of  the  century.  Humor 
has  carried  me  in  many  paths,  but  as  the  truth  has  appeared  to 
me  so  I  have  taken  pleasure  in  writing  it  down  for  the  edification, 
I  trust  the  benefit,  of  my  towns-people,  and  perhaps  for  the  assist- 
ance of  some  future  historian  who  would  find  these  data  of  service. 

Outside  of  some  valuable  papers  in  my  father's  possession,  a  few 
old  store  books,  and  other  data  of  less  importance,  I  have  had 
nothing  to  aid  me  save  my  own  memories  of  seventy  years. 

How  easy  it  would  be  for  the  historian  —  the  writer  of  town 
history  especially  —  had  our  fathers  been  thoughtful  of  the  future 


8  Foreword. 

in  preserving  for  us,  in  written  form,  the  true  history  of  the  early 
days  in  the  Colonies,  —  the  true  story  of  the  life  of  the  people  then. 
As  for  Weymouth,  there  is  a  blank  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
or  from  shortly  after  the  permanent  settlement  —  say  1635  — to  the 
end  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  time  there  are  absolutely  no 
records  of  the  town  or  people,  and  mention  of  Weymouth  is  but 
rarely  made.  Now  and  then  there  may  be  a  record  of  a  land  trans- 
fer, or  a  soldier  or  two  drawn  from  the  town,  —  nothing  else. 

If  my  effort  should  inspire  autobiographies,  from  which  histories 
are  made,  by  oldest  residents  and  others,  then  these  few  sketches 
of  Weymouth  Landing  and  its  people  will  not  have  been  penned 
in  vain. 

E.  S.  H. 


REMINISCENCES. 


Chapter  I.     In  the  "Thirties." 


WAS  born  on  Front  street,  Weymouth,  July  19, 
1827.  The  house  (now  j6  Front  street)  is  the 
most  interesting  of  all  in  the  village  to  me. 
My  father,  Major  Elias  Hunt,  occupied  the  south 
side  of  the  house,  and  his  brother,  William  Hunt, 
who  died  Sept.  24,  1822,  lived  in  the  north  side.  At  the  time 
of  my  birth,  his  son,  Elbridge  Gerry  Hunt,  occupied  the  north 
side  of  this  fine  old  house. 

Here  I  lived  until  I  was  four  years  old,  when  my  father 
removed  to  his  new  house,  now  175  Front  street,  and  owned 
by  Mr.  James  T.  Pease.  After  father  removed  from  my  birth- 
place, it  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Adoniram  Bowditch,  whose  wife 
was  my  cousin,  Charlotte  Hunt.  I  enjoyed  visiting  at  cousin 
Charlotte's  better  than  at  any  other  place,  for  a  better  soul 
never  lived  than  she. 

My  father  was  married  in  September,  1820,  in  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  by  the  Rev.  Abiel  Holmes,  D.  D.,  father  of  the  poet, 
Oliver  Wendell  Holmes.  My  mother,  Eliza  Maria  Theresa 
Soper,  daughter  of  Major  Edmund  Soper,  of  Braintree,  came 
to  the  home  on  Front  street,  where  the  wedding  reception  was 
held,  and  where  our  family  lived  till  183 1. 


10  Reminiscences. 

My  recollections  of  the  olden  times  in  my  native  village, 
together  with  some  of  the  most  interesting  events  of  a  long 
and  active  business  life,  I  propose  to  bring  together  in  this 
voh-un^,  believing  that  it  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  future 
generations  cf  those  who  chance  to  live  in  Weymouth. 

My  school  days  in  the  "thirties  "  were  passed  in  the  old  school- 
hou-sb  {ths?.Ys  hev/ly' built)  kyn  Front  street.  Of  the  boys  who 
attended  school  at  that  time,  few  besides  myself  are  alive  to- 
day. Of  those  boys  and  girls  I  remember,  none  were  other 
than  native  born ;  their  fathers  and  mothers  having  always 
lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Weymouth,  they  were  descendants  of 
the  old  Pilgrim-Puritan  stock. 

At  that  time  the  school  was  called  the  Fourth  District, 
which  included  most  of  the  territory  of  Ward  III  of  to-day, 
and  all  were  accommodated  in  this  two-roomed  school-house. 
The  children  began  and  completed  their  education  here  with- 
out the  aid  of  a  high  school.  The  boys  were  a  motley-looking 
lot,  compared  with  the  boys  now.  Then  money  was  scarce 
and  clothes  were  dear,  and  dress  counted  for  nothing.  Some 
from  Back  (now  Summer)  street  wore  simply  smock-frocks, 
made  of  coarse  blue  stuff,  gathered  at  the  neck  with  a  string. 
Green  bocking  jackets  were  called  pretty  fine,  and  few  could 
afford  them.  For  head-gear,  a  coarse  sealskin  cap  was  worn 
by  many. 

These  were  good  old  democratic  days  (Jacksonian),  and  as 
none  had  ever  then  seen  better  times,  all  were  content. 

Of  my  teachers,  I  remember  well  Miss  Seymour,  from 
Hingham ;  Miss  Emeline  Merritt,  from  South  Weymouth,  and 
Miss  Boynton,  from  Scituate,  who  were  favorites  with  the 
school  children ;  then  came  Miss  Lucy  J.  Chipman,  who  on 
June  4,  1842,  became  the  wife  of  my  cousin,  Richard  A.  Hunt, 
late  of  Front  street.  These  teachers  taught  school  in  the 
room  on  the  first  floor,  while  the  room  above  was  occupied  by 
a  male  teacher. 


In  the  "  Thirties  r  II 

The  man  I  remember  best  was  John  Hatherly  Foster.  He 
came  from  a  good  Scituate  family,  and  was  a  born  teacher. 
The  boy  or  girl  he  could  not  teach  could  not  be  taught.  Mr. 
Foster  came  to  the  school  fully  equipped  for  his  work.  He 
had  several  pieces  of  apparatus  to  demonstrate  what  he  taught. 
A  table  stood  in  front  of  his  desk,  which  was  covered  with 
apparatus.  How  well  I  remember  the  electrical  machine  with 
its  Ley  den  jar,  the  air-pump,  the  air-gun,  and  a  large  globe ! 
These  are  common  to-day  in  all  public  schools,  but  in  my 
school  days  they  were  the  first  that  my  schoolmates  or  myself 
had  seen,  and  great  interest  was  created  to  know  their  uses. 
The  boys  could  never  forget  that  Leyden  jar,  with  its  bright 
button  at  the  top  and  chain  by  its  side.  Few  escaped  an 
electric  shock  from  it. 

As  an  instrument  of  torture  many  had  a  practical  demon- 
stration of  its  use  daily.  This  Leyden  jar  was  always  charged 
ready  for  the  mischievous,  and  woe  betide  the  boy  that  the 
master  saw  whispering ;  for  Mr,  Foster  would  slyly  seize  that 
jar  and  as  slyly  approach  the  mischief-maker,  and,  touching 
the  boy's  thigh  with  the  button,  a  sensation  like  the  sting  of  a 
large  yellow  hornet  flashed  over  the  mischievous  one,  who 
instantly  shouted  "  Oh !  "  to  the  great  amusement  of  all  the 
scholars,  who  had  watched  the  fun  from  the  first.  He  was, 
indeed,  a  dull  boy  who  could  not  learn  from  such  practical 
lessons  in  electricity ! 

The  air-gun  was  always  ready  for  its  work.  The  girl  seen 
breaking  the  rules,  had  the  cork  stopper  that  plugged  the  end 
of  the  tube  shot  at  her.  This  made  a  loud  report.  The  gun 
was  discharged  by  a  spark  from  the  Leyden  jar,  which  was 
only  another  way  of  giving  a  lesson  in  the  use  of  electricity. 
These  lessons  were  always  given  in  the  presence  of  a  long 
cowhide  lying  on  the  table.  This  cowhide,  then  considered  a 
promoter  of  discipline,  has,  I  think,  now  become  obsolete ;  but 
in  my  school  days,  if  the  offence  was  greater  than  electricity 


1 2  Reminiscences. 

could  atone  for,  the  cowhide  was  brought  into  use  as  the  most 
perfect  instrument  of  torture. 

There  was  no  gymnasium  for  the  scholars  of  that  time.  In 
fact  every  boy  had  one  at  home,  in  his  father's  back  yard,  in 
the  form  of  a  chopping-block  and  a  saw-horse.  On  Saturday 
afternoon,  the  school  having  closed  for  the  week  at  noon, 
every  father  required  his  boys  to  exercise  by  chopping  and 
sawing  a  pile  of  wood  which  was  always  ready.  Scarcely  a 
family  in  town  then  used  hard  coal,  and  cutting  wood  was  a 
constant  drill  in  gymnastics.  Most  of  those  boys  had  horses 
and  cattle  to  care  for  and  to  drive  on  the  farm  in  "  seed  time 
and  harvest,"  and  so  the  boys  of  my  time  had  more  exercise 
than  the  boy  of  to-day  gets. 

As  already  said,  the  school-house  of  District  No.  4  was  on 
Front  street,  and  across  the  way  was  the  homestead  of  the 
late  Atherton  W.  Tilden  (now  Trinity  Church).  From  the 
well  back  of  this  house  the  scholars  got  their  water,  and  to  be 
sent  on  this  errand  was  considered  a  great  privilege.  At  times 
the  privilege  brought  temptations.  In  Mr.  Tilden' s  front  yard 
stood  two  black-heart  cherry  trees,  and  as  I  look  back,  it  seems 
to  me  as  though  most  front  yards  contained  either  cherry, 
pear  or  apple  trees.  Now,  on  those  **  rare  "  days  in  June,  the 
boys  always  managed  to  get  some  of  Mr.  Tilden's  cherries  on 
the  sly, — "  stolen  fruit  is  always  the  sweetest ; "  then  in  the 
fall  there  were  the  apple  trees  hanging  over  the  fence  from 
Mr.  Josiah  Thayer's,  loaded  with  the  most  tempting  fruit  that 
boys  ever  set  eyes  upon.  At  recess  the  first  boys  out  always 
got  these  apples;  others,  following,  shouted  for  "a  bite," 
while  the  last  to  reach  the  yard  often  got  the  core. 

Once  I  remember  four  boys  were  missing  from  school. 
They  had  not  attended  school  for  several  days,  and  no  one 
seemed  to  know  where  they  were  ;  but  in  crossing  the  pasture 
behind  the  late  Samuel  W.  Reed's  house,  some  one  discovered 
them  in  a  hut   which  they  had  built  in  the  bushes.     Upon 


In  the  "  Thirties"  13 

learning  of  this,  Mr.  Foster  sent  some  of  the  larger  boys, 
among  whom  was  the  late  Thomas  Tilden,  after  them.  The 
four  were  brought  to  the  school-house  by  their  school-mates 
(we  had  no  truant  officers  then)  and  given  a  good  cowhiding, 
and  no  one  complained  about  the  punishment. 

The  school  did  not  keep  on  Saturday  afternoons,  for,  as  I 
learn  from  an  old  school  report,  this  time  was  considered 
necessary  to  prepare  the  boys  and  girls  for  the  Sabbath  school. 
As  I  remember,  we  chopped  wood,  shelled  corn,  carried  the 
grist  to  the  old  Welsh  mill,  pulled  weeds,  hoed  potatoes,  run 
errands,  with  little  time  for  play,  and,  knowing  no  better, 
believed  that  those  were  happy  times. 

During  the  public  school  vacation  Mr.  Foster  taught  a  pri- 
vate school  for  boys.  This  school  was  in  a  building  long  since 
pulled  down,  which  occupied  the  site  where  the  Walsh  harness 
shop  now  stands,  between  Washington  and  Norfolk  squares. 
East  Braintree.  He  occupied  the  first  floor,  with  Miss  Lucy 
Chipman  and  Miss  Mary  Leach  on  the  second  floor.  In  this 
school  he  had  boys  from  Braintree,  with  the  boys  from  Wey- 
mouth. Of  those,  I  know  of  but  two  besides  myself  now  liv- 
ing, viz.:  Francis  H.  Tilden,  of  Front  street,  and  Amos  W. 
Stetson,  of  Braintree  and  Boston.* 

Mr.  Foster  conducted  this  school  much  in  the  same  way  as 
that  on  Front  street.  Over  his  desk  were  arranged  a  set  of 
cards,  and  by  pulling  a  string  he  gave  the  signal  for  recess  or 
intermission.  Upon  his  ringing  a  bell  and  pulling  up  a  card, 
the  boys  made  a  rush  for  the  door.  The  monitor  was  always 
ready  with  his  bell  to  sound,  if  he  discovered  a  delinquent, — 
and  here  too  the  Leyden  jar  was  always  ready. 

This  was,  however,  a  pleasant  school  as  schools  go.  We 
played  on  Mrs.  Derby's  hill  back  of  the  old  school-house  in 
summer,  and  coasted  down  "Major's  hill"  in  winter.     Here 


*Mr.  Stetson  died  while  on  a  visit  to  Switzerland  in  the  summer  of  1904. 


14  Reminiscences. 

we  learned  that  never  were  pears  so  good  as  those  that  grew 
on  the  St.  Michael  pear  trees  in  front  of  the  old  Richmond 
house. 

Of  my  school  books,  I  best  remember  Colburn's  Arithmetic, 
first  published  in  182 1.  I  used  this  for  the  eight  years  of  my 
schooling.  My  Reader  was  John  Pierpont's  American  First 
Class  Book,  first  published  in  1823,  and  in  its  thirty-fifth  edi- 
tion in  1835.  I  also  used  Olney's  Geography,  Comstock's 
Philosophy,  and  Willard's  Astronomy. 

As  we  always  began  at  the  beginning  of  Colburn's  Arith- 
metic each  term,  few  ever  advanced  beyond  fractions,  or  the 
"rule  of  three,"  and  it  was  mysteriously  whispered  around  that 
there  were  many  "  sums  "  in  the  back  part  of  the  book  that 
the  teachers  could  not  solve.  No  one  advanced  far  enough  to 
test  this  point. 

Our  lessons  were  recited  in  the  forms  at  the  back  end  of 
the  room  and  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  school.  Quite  as 
much  was  learned  from  listening  to  the  recitations  as  from  the 
study  of  the  books.  I  think  that  the  bright  scholars  were  an 
inspiration  to  the  poorer  ones.  There  were  many  fine  scholars 
in  Mr.  Foster's  schools.  Ezra  Leach,  my  brother  Ebenezer 
W.  Hunt,  and  Gilbert  Nash,  the  author  of  a  **  Historical 
Sketch  of  the  Town  of  Weymouth,"  were  among  the  best. 

After  Mr.  Foster  came  Mr.  Pillsbury,  a  brother  of  Parker 
Pillsbury,  the  noted  Abolitionist.  After  him  came  Mr.  Nims. 
These  men  were  unlike  Mr.  Foster.  With  them,  teaching  was 
a  makeshift  to  enable  them  to  complete  a  college  education. 
They  were  not  liked  by  the  boys,  and  the  use  of  the  ferule 
was  their  most  salutary  service  to  the  school,  as  I  too  well 
remember. 

In  the  basement  of  the  Universalist  Church  (now  Lincoln 
Hall),  then  just  built,  I  attended  a  private  school,  and  well 
remember  the  teacher  as  a  pleasant  gentleman  named  Brown. 
The  boys  all  liked  this  school,  as  they  were  allowed  more  lib- 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  15 

erty  than  in  the  town  school.  Among  the  scholars  were  John 
and  George  Porter,  Henry  Willis,  Peter  Gushing,  Benjamin  B. 
Thayer,  and  Edward  Hanson,  who  is  still  living  in  New  York. 
The  old  Fourth  District  was  disbanded  in  1854,  but  — 

Still  sits  the  school-house  by  the  road, 

A  ragged  beggar  sunning ; 
Around  it  still  the  sumachs  grow, 

And  blackberry  vines  are  running. —  Whittier. 

The  boy  of  to-day,  with  all  his  comforts,  little  knows  what 
the  boys  of  those  times  had  to  go  through  to  get  their  school- 
ing. As  I  look  back,  it  seems  to  have  been  a  poor  world 
indeed.  Sunday  was  a  day  of  gloom,  and  no  boy  could  put 
his  foot  out  of  doors  for  the  sin  of  it,  other  than  to  attend 
church  and  Sunday  school.  Sometimes  a  donation  party  to 
the  minister  enlivened  the  boys  a  little,  as  did  the  village  sing- 
ing school,  where  the  boys  and  girls  learned  to  sing  and  to 
choose  their  mates. 

A  quilting  party  was  one  of  the  happy  things  I  remember. 
Surrounding  the  quilting  frames  would  gather  all  the  neigh- 
bors. As  they  worked  they  talked  and  gossiped  together  until 
the  quilt  was  done,  when  all  enjoyed  a  good  cup  of  tea  and 
returned  to  their  homes. 

Like  the  quilting  was  the  husking  party  in  the  fall  of  the 
year.  When  the  corn  had  been  gathered  into  the  barn  and 
piled  high  on  one  side  of  the  barn  floor,  then  the  husking  came. 
In  the  evening  the  lanterns  were  hung  up  around  the  corn, 
and  all  the  neighbors  came  to  husk  and  talk  and  joke.  I  can 
hear  them  now,  telling  stories  and  poking  fun  at  each  other, 
and  see  the  cows  standing  in  the  background,  chewing  their 
cuds  and  looking  on  contentedly.  After  the  corn  was  husked, 
all  were  invited  into  the  kitchen,  where  the  women  folks  had 
the  long  table  loaded  with  a  bountiful  harvest  supper,  including 


1 6  Reminiscences . 

turkey,  mince  pie,  coffee,  and  cider.     These  were  the  sunny 
days  which  I  remember. 

We  had  no  club-rooms ;  the  grocery  store  was  the  meeting- 
place  to  talk  over  the  doings  of  the  day.  In  the  shoe  shops 
the  men  usually  worked  in  the  evening  till  nine  o'clock.  These 
little  workshops  were  pleasant  to  get  into,  in  the  cold  winter 
nights,  for  they  were  warm  and  comfortable.  Here  the  talk 
was  always  interesting,  as  the  shoemaker  of  that  day  had 
many  advantages.  He  was  his  own  master,  and  could  talk  as 
much  as  he  pleased.  He  read  the  newspapers,  discussed  local 
and  public  questions,  and  knew  as  much  about  poHtics  as  the 
best  politicians  did. 

The  people  had  little  money,  and  the  manufacturers  paid 
mostly  in  orders  on  Major  Amos  Stetson,  and  Tufts  &  Whit- 
temore.  If  one  comes  across  a  pass-book  of  that  time,  he 
will  conclude  that  all  the  folks  bought  was  rum,  molasses, 
spices,  and  cotton  and  woolen  cloth.  It  was  not  that  more 
rum  was  used  then,  but  that  it  was  obtained  mainly  at  the 
local  grocery  store.  A  man  who  did  not  have  a  large  garden 
of  potatoes,  crook-neck  squashes  and  other  vegetables,  besides 
a  hog  in  the  sty  —  fattened  to  fill  his  pork  barrel  on  each 
Thanksgiving  —  was  regarded  improvident. 

You  seldom  find  in  the  old  pass-books  any  mention  of  wheat 
flour,  for  the  folks  used  mostly  Indian  meal.  The  corn  was 
grown  about  here  on  the  farms  ;  after  being  shelled,  it  was  car- 
ried to  the  old  mill  for  grinding.  There,  for  each  bushel 
ground,  the  miller  took  one  quart  as  toll.  Our  corn  bread  was 
baked  in  the  brick  oven  set  in  the  large  square  chimney  in  the 
centre  of  the  house. 

The  first  cooking  stove  that  I  have  any  remembrance  of  was 
the  rotary  stove.  The  fireplace  and  oven  were  square,  but  the 
top  was  round,  with  six  holes.  Around  the  outer  edge,  cog- 
wheels and  gears  were  so  connected  with  a  crank  that,  by 
turning  the  latter,  one  could  revolve  the  top  so  as  to  bring 


In  tJie  "  Thirties:'  1 7 

each  pot  or  kettle  over  the  fire  as  was  desired.  On  Thanks- 
giving day  the  roasting  of  the  turkey  was  done  in  a  tin  kitchen, 
and  no  nickel-plated  stove  of  to-day  could  do  the  cooking  as 
well.  The  tin  kitchen  consisted  of  a  cylinder  of  tin  with  an 
opening  facing  the  fire.  A  long  iron  spit  was  put  through  the 
turkey,  and  each  end  was  then  placed  in  holes  in  the  ends 
of  the  tin  kitchen,  and  the  roast  was  turned  from  time  to  time 
as  the  cooking  went  on  before  the  large  open  fire.  "  In  y® 
olden  times  "  he  who  turned  the  crank  was  called  a  "  turn- 
spit." One  who  has  eaten  meat  or  fowl  cooked  in  a  tin  kitchen 
will  never  admit  that  it  can  be  done  as  well  otherwise. 

In  the  old  church  were  two  stoves  long  enough  to  take  in 
four-foot  wood.  They  were  made  of  cast-iron,  and  when  the 
elderly  people  came  to  meeting  they  brought  with  them  a 
small,  square  tin  stove,  having  a  wooden  frame  with  a  handle 
on  top  to  carry  it  by.  This  tin  stove  was  taken  to  one  of  the 
long  stoves  and  filled  with  live  coals,  then  placed  in  the  bottom 
of  the  pew  to  keep  their  feet  warm  during  the  services. 

Excepting  the  Fourth  of  July,  Thanksgiving  was  the  greatest 
day  of  the  year.  On  that  day,  be  they  never  so  poor,  all  had 
a  good  dinner, —  the  best  of  the  year.  Without  stint  all  the 
good  things  were  for  this  day.     Great  were  the  preparations. 

To-day  no  one  keeps  a  hog.  In  the  days  of  which  I  tell,  he 
who  kept  no  hog  was  hardly  respectable ;  he  was  impecunious. 
In  those  times  all  knew  of  the  coming  of  Thanksgiving  by  the 
slaughter  of  the  hog.  How  well  I  remember,  as  the  fall  ad- 
vanced, the  neighbors  going  about  on  Sunday  mornings  and 
peering  into  the  pigsties  to  size  up  the  "porkers."  One 
would  say,  "  Your  hog  will  weigh  four  score ; "  one  less,  an- 
other more.  A  "five  score"  (500  pounds)  shoat  made  the 
owner  proud,  but  his  neighbors  envious. 

The  week  before  Thanksgiving  day  the  slaughter  began. 
As  if  it  were  to-day,  I  can  see  my  father's  uncle  Bill,  with  his 
sandstone  in  one  hand  and  his  long,  sharp  knife  in  the  other. 


1 8  Reminiscences . 

Uncle  Bill  was  of  consequence  in  the  family,  for  he  not  only 
helped  us  out  on  Thanksgiving  day,  but  through  his  ancestors 
we  traced  our  line  of  descent  from  John  Alden  and  Priscilla. 

"  Poor  piggie,"  all  unconscious  of  his  ignominious  end,  had 
eaten  his  breakfast  and  was  dreaming  of  more  *'  swill "  to 
come,  when  Uncle  Bill  arrived  and  ruthlessly  took  his  life 
away.  The  pig  was  seized  by  the  bristles  on  his  back,  and 
"  roused  "  over  on  his  side  and  his  throat  cut,  when  he  squealed 
his  life  away,  filling  the  air  with  cries  of  the  slaughter. 

On  the  arrival  of  Uncle  Bill,  the  fires  were  lit  under  the 
great  wash-boilers,  and  water  was  heated  ready  to  scald  the 
dead  hog.  Think  of  this,  after  having  his  throat  cut !  Now 
from  the  scalding  tub  he  was  taken  by  the  heels,  hung  up  in 
the  barn,  scraped,  split  open  to  cool  off,  while  all  prayed  for 
cool  weather.  The  next  day  the  hog  was  cut  up, — in  fact, 
cut  down.  The  lean  pieces  for  sausage-meat,  the  "  spare-ribs  " 
hung  up  for  future  use  ;  the  shoulders  and  hams  were  sent 
down  to  Col.  Abram  Thayer's  to  be  pickled  and  smoked,  and 
what  remained  was  cut  in  strips  and  laid  down  in  the  pork 
barrel.     Thus  lived  and  died  for  others  "poor  piggie." 

Then  in  my  father's  yard  was  strutting  the  great  turkey 
gobbler,  the  pride  of  the  household,  all  unconscious  of  his 
fate.  He  had  no  ignominious  end  like  "poor  piggie,"  but  was 
taken  to  the  block  and  decapitated  in  royal  manner  as  was 
Charles  I.  My  father's  turkey,  like  his  hog,  was  no  small 
affair,  but  was  of  presidential  size,  weighing  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  pounds. 

Now  Thanksgiving  week  comes.  On  Monday  morning  the 
household  is  up  early,  the  washing  done,  nothing  to  interfere, 
no  Monday  Club,  and  all  began  on  the  Thanksgiving  pies 
and  puddings.  There  were  no  hired  servants  then.  In  some 
families  the  mother  took  the  place  of  a  servant,  and  in  others 
were  numerous  poor  relatives  living  in  the  family.  It  was  so 
in  my  father's  family.     My  mother  was  regarded  as  a  good 


In  the  '*  Thirties y  19 

cook.  Her  pies  Were  made  of  the  best  mince-pie  meat,  moist- 
ened with  boiled  cider,  and  a  quart  of  good  brandy  added  for 
its  "  keeping  "  quality.  Then  my  mother  baked  some  seventy- 
five  to  one  hundred  mince  pies,  and  the  last  were  better  than 
the  first. 

The  night  before  Thanksgiving,  the  oven  was  heated  for  the 
last  time,  and  the  plum  pudding  was  put  in  to  remain  over 
night  and  be  ready  for  dinner.  In  those  days  all  the  baking 
was  done  in  the  brick  oven,  heated  by  faggots  or  bundles  of 
brush-wood,  and  when  the  black  was  burned  off  the  oven  was 
ready  to  bake. 

On  Thanksgiving  day  the  breakfast  was  a  bountiful  one ;  all 
kinds  of  pies  were  on  the  table.  After  breakfast  my  father 
and  the  boys  went  to  church,  leaving  the  women  folks  to 
roast  the  turkey  in  the  tin  kitchen  before  the  open  fire  and 
to  prepare  the  dinner.  In  the  "thirties  "  the  old  Union  church 
would  be  well  filled,  it  being  the  only  church  in  the  village. 
With  good  judgment,  Mr.  Perkins  always  had  a  short  sermon, 
and  the  choir,  the  most  noted  in  the  country  about,  sang  selec- 
tions from  "The  Messiah"  and  "The  Creation,"  the  instru- 
mental music  being  performed  by  my  cousins,  Nathaniel, 
Charles  and  Richard  Hunt. 

After  dinner,  if  ice  had  come,  the  boys  went  skating,  and 
at  night  all  went  to  a  dance  in  Wales'  Hall,  where  one  would 
meet,  perhaps,  George  White  and  his  cousin  Alden  White ;  and 
so  Thanksgiving  day  was  ended.  No  one  in  the  village  then 
observed  Christmas.  It  came  and  passed  unnoticed.  It  was 
regarded  as  a  church  festival  to  be  avoided.  Times  have 
changed  for  the  better,  I  think. 

The  most  convenient  way  of  reaching  Boston  was  to  go  by 
stage-coach.  Arad  Linfield  drove  a  stage  from  South  Wey- 
mouth, while  the  Plymouth  and  New  Bedford  stages  came 
down  the  turnpike  drawn  by  four  fast  horses.  It  was  a  fine 
sight  to  see  these  drivers,  cracking  their  long  whips,  coming 


20  Reminiscences. 

down  the  turnpike,  turning  at  Tufts'  corner  (now  Washington 
Square)  and  rounding  up  at  the  hotel.  The  Uke  cannot  be 
seen  in  these  days.  Those  coaches  stopped  at  all  the  taverns 
on  the  road  for  the  horses  to  get  bait  and  quench  their  thirst, 
as  also  did  the  passengers.  It  must  have  been  a  pleasant  ex- 
cursion to  have  travelled  from  Plymouth  or  New  Bedford  to 
Boston  with  a  coach  full  of  jolly  passengers  in  those  days. 

While  I  was  at  school  on  Front  street,  the  hard  times  of 
'37  came  on.  I  think  there  has  been  nothing  since  equal  to 
those  days  of  poverty.  There  was  nothing  for  the  workman 
to  do,  and  he  passed  his  time  pitching  quoits  by  the  roadside. 
On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  from  the  school  a  dozen  men 
stood  idle  from  morning  till  night.  The  late  Mr.  Elias  Rich- 
ards then  occupied  the  old  shop  which  my  father  had  used 
ten  years  before.  Later  on  it  was  changed  into  a  dwelling 
house,  where  the  late  Jonathan  Hartshorn  lived  for  many 
years. 

On  the  wharves,  early  in  the  "thirties,"  were  Porter  &  Webb, 
carrying  on  the  lumber  business,  and  later  Whitcomb  Porter 
and  Harvey  Reed,  while  Quincy  Reed  and  Elisha  Blanchard 
were  engaged  in  the  grain  business. 

As  I  remember  there  were  four  packets  running  from  New 
York,  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  The  commanders  were 
Captains  Elijah  Bates,  Peter  Lane,  Quincy  Lane  and  others. 
These  packets  brought  all  the  flour  and  grain  used  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Weymouth.  In  those  days  the  wharves  were  busy  places, 
with  teams  for  grain  and  lumber  from  Abington,  Randolph, 
Stoughton  and  other  places.  The  late  Mr.  George  Blanchard 
had  a  store  at  the  wharves,  where  he  fitted  out  the  vessels 
that  went  out  with  supplies. 

At  the  lower  end  of  the  wharves,  stood  the  large  steam  saw- 
ing and  planing  mill  of  Forbes,  Cole  &  Thayer.  In  the  dock 
below  the  steam-mill  was  floating  lumber.  At  this  point  in  the 
Fore  river  was  a  famous  swimming  place  for  the  boys.     To 


In  the  "  Thirties  y  21 

swim  across  the  river  at  high  tide,  to  Colonel  Thayer's  island, 
was  a  feat  of  which  many  of  the  old  boys  could  boast.  The 
Tufts  family  lived  in  this  vicinity,  and  then  owned  the  only 
boat  that  I  remember  on  the  river.  It  was  a  little  green  boat 
and  could  be  had  all  day  for  twenty-five  cents.  The  heavy 
freight  was  carried  to  Boston  by  packet,  while  the  sloop  "  Vo- 
lante,"  Captain  Balch  Cowing,  master,  sometimes  carried  pass- 
engers. 

Where  the  Weymouth  Railroad  Station  now  stands  was  the 
old  Whitmarsh  house,  in  which  Mr.  Samuel  Whitmarsh  then 
resided.  Mr.  Whitmarsh  lived  to  be  ninety-nine  years  old,  and 
his  son  Mr.  John  Whitmarsh  who  was  born  in  the  old  house,  is 
now  (April  4,  1902),  in  his  ninety-ninth  year. 

The  village  hotel  (now  the  Roman  Catholic  parsonage),  was 
kept  by  Mr.  Asa  B.  Wales  with  an  open  bar. 

Opposite  the  Whitmarsh  house  stood  the  hay  scales,  and 
down  back  of  the  house  was  the  string-piece,  —  a  large  timber, 
—  stretching  across  the  river,  one  end  resting  on  the  cap  of 
the  wharf,  the  other  on  the  shore  back  of  the  old  Union 
Church,  making  a  short  cut  to  church  and  to  Braintree  for 
those  who  lived  below  the  Square  (Washington). 

About  1833  there  occurred  a  large  fire  in  that  locality.  A 
carpenter's  shop,  and  a  large  stable  which  stood  where  the  J. 
C.  Rhines  and  the  C.  A.  Rice  houses  now  stand,  were  burned. 
It  was  in  the  days  of  the  "Aquarius."  But  as  the  engine  was 
without  suction  hose,  the  tub  was  filled  with  water  by  hand- 
buckets.  A  line  was  formed  from  the  well  in  the  Square, 
and  the  buckets  were  passed  back  and  forth  until  the  fire  was 
extinguished. 

The  "  Aquarius  "  was  owned  by  a  number  in  the  village  who 
wished  to  be  exempt  from  military  duty.  From  my  papers  I 
find  that  the  engine  men  for  1834  were  :  —  Peter  H.  Cushing, 
Nathaniel  Hunt,  Thomas  Colson,  Jonathan  E.  White,  Thomas 
C.  Webb,  Addison  Cheesman,  Nathaniel  Richards,  Jr.,  Thomas 


22  Reminiscences. 

B.  Porter,  Eben  H.  Richards,  William  Field,  David  J.  Tirrell, 
Samuel  Cook,  Charles  Clapp,  Samuel  Curtis,  Nehemiah  White, 
Aaron  P.  Nash,  James  R.  Beckley,  John  C.  Rhines,  Joseph 
Clapp,  Elias  Nash,  and  Elbridge  G.  Hunt, 

At  this  time  were  the  May  trainings,  where  all  men  of  a  cer- 
tain age  were  required  to  attend.  Each  must  furnish  gun, 
powder-horn,  primer  and  other  equipments,  and  be  inspected 
by  the  adjutant.  Again  in  the  autumn  occurred  the  annual 
regimental  or  division  muster.  I  remember  a  division  muster 
on  Colonel  Minot  Thayer's  hill,  back  of  where  Captain  Joel  F. 
Sheppard  now  lives.  All  of  the  notables  were  entertained  at 
Colonel  Thayer's  house.  Our  agricultural  fairs  seem  to  have 
taken  the  place  of  the  military  musters  of  that  time. 

Mr.  Samuel  Arnold,  the  younger,  built  the  Wales  hotel,  and 
in  1803  the  house  now  owned  by  Francis  H.  Cowing.  Mr. 
Arnold  kept  the  hotel  for  a  while,  and  was  then  followed  by 
Colonel  Abram  Thayer  who  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  John  D. 
Woods.  Later  Mr.  Woods  took  charge  of  the  Halfway  house 
at  Neponset,  and  then  Mr.  Asa  B.  Wales  was  proprietor  in  my 
boyhood  days.  Mr.  Arnold  lived  in  the  Cowing  house  for  a 
time,  but  after  he  removed  or  died,  it  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Asa 
Webb,  a  trader,  whose  store  was  the  one  more  recently  oc- 
cupied by  Lewis  and  Solon  Pratt.  Mr.  Webb  had  two  sons, — 
Thomas,  at  one  time  our  town  clerk,  and  Charles  Henry,  whom 
we  all  remember  as  a  fine  musician  and  the  leader  of  the  Wey- 
mouth orchestra. 

Opposite  Mr.  Webb's  house  was  the  office  of  Mr.  Fisher  A. 
Kingsbury,  a  man  of  note,  being  the  only  lawyer  at  that  time, 
and  for  many  years  Postmaster.  His  name  will  be  found  con- 
nected with  most  of  the  legal  documents  executed  in  the 
"  thirties." 

Next  to  Mr.  Kingsbury's  office  stood  the  old  State  Bank, 
of  which  Josiah  Vinton,  Esq.,  was  President,  and  Thomas  R. 


In  the  "  Thirties y  23 

Hanson  Cashier.  Next  stood  the  shop  of  Mr.  Ezra  Leach, 
who  did  a  large  business  in  currying  leather,  employing  many 
hands.  I  remember  Mr.  Leach  as  a  generous  and  public- 
spirited  man.  It  was  largely  through  his  generosity  that  the 
Union  Church  secured  their  fine  organ,  as  he  gave  most  of  the 
money  needed.  In  politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  he  filled  a  large 
place  in  the  village.  His  house  is  now  owned  by  the  heirs  of 
the  late  Elias  Richards. 

Opposite  Mr.  Leach's  was  the  office  of  Peter  H.  Cushing, 
the  old-time  village  jeweller.  Here  he  bought,  sold,  and  re- 
paired clocks  and  watches. 

As  we  have  now  reached  the  "  Smelt  Brook,"  which  forms  the 
line  between  Weymouth  and  Braintree,  and  can  go  no  farther 
in  Weymouth,  we  will  turn  around  and  go  towards  the  Square. 

Next  to  Mr.  Cushing's  stood  the  harness  shop  occupied  by 
Charles  Park.  Now  we  come  to  the  store  occupied  for  years 
by  Tufts  and  Whittemore.  Here  they  kept  a  general  store 
with  the  post  office  and  our  first  circulating  library,  —  the 
building  then  occupying  the  site  of  Tufts  Library  building  in 
1906.  On  the  opposite  corner  was  the  little  tailoring  shop  of 
Mr.  Francis  M.  Adlington,  the  village  poet.  Whatever  the 
occasion,  he  was  ready  with  his  pen  to  celebrate  it  in  poetry. 
Many  of  his  poems  have  been  thought  to  compare  favorably 
with  Whittier's  in  style  and  sentiment. 

Mr.  Elijah  Pierce  occupied  the  next  building,  covering  quite 
a  large  space  with  old  traps  of  carriages.  "Uncle"  Elijah, 
as  he  was  commonly  called,  was  a  great  favorite  in  the  village. 
He  repaired  all  the  vehicles  and  harnesses,  and  his  yard  and 
old  shop  were  favorite  resorts  for  the  boys. 

Washington  Merritt  had  a  work-shop  near  Mr.  Pierce's, 
where  it  was  said,  that  he  built  the  first  reed  organ.  I  re- 
member that  his  sister.  Miss  Emeline  Merritt,  when  teaching 
here,  took  all  the  school  down  to  hear  her  brother  play  the 
organ. 


24  Reminiscences. 

Close  by  was  Samuel  Reed's  blacksmith  shop.  He  ironed 
my  sled,  and  all  the  old  horseshoes  we  could  find  he  bought 
for  one  cent  each.  Mr.  Reed  did  many  jobs  for  me  in  the  old 
shop,  for  as  a  boy  I  was  always  experimenting.  For  his  work 
he  had  a  rule  that,  if  he  charged,  the  cost  was  twice  as  much 
as  when  cash  was  paid  at  the  time  the  work  was  done. 

Nearly  opposite  Mr.  Reed's  was  Tilly  Willis's  wheelwright 
shop.  He  built  all  the  boy's  sleds,  the  wheel-barrows,  and  the 
farm  wagons.  He  shared  this  business  with  his  rival,  Caleb 
Hunt,  who  lived  across  the  "Smelt  Brook."  Mr.  Reed  did 
not  get  all  of  the  blacksmithing,  for  above  Mr.  Willis's  stood 
the  shop  of  Mr.  Isaiah  Thayer,  who  did  my  father's  work. 

At  that  time  there  was  no  other  business  on  the  "turnpike" 
(now  Washington  street),  until  we  come  to  the  old  bake-house 
which  then  stood  where  the  Baptist  Church  now  stands. 
This  bake-house  was  built  by  Mr.  Whitcomb  Porter  from  lum- 
ber that  came  from  the  Old  North  Church  which  had  been 
erected  in  1752.  About  1835,  or  thereabouts,  the  bake-shop 
was  changed  into  a  dwelling-house  and  occupied  by  my  cousin, 
the  late  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  for  a  time.  His  manufactory  was 
close  by,  standing  between  his  house  and  Captain  Elbridge 
Tirrell's.  There  was  no  Broad  street  crossing  from  the  "turn- 
pike "  to  Front  street  in  those  days.  The  house  so  long  oc- 
cupied by  Sanford  White  on  Broad  street  was  Mr.  Hunt's 
shop.  He  was  there  from  1836  to  1840,  and  according  to  his 
old  ledger  his  business  amounted  to  some  $6,000  a  year. 

Broad  street,  extending  from  Washington  street  to  East 
Weymouth,  was  built  in  1834,  after  much  opposition  from  the 
north  and  south  parts  of  the  town.  There  is  more  coal  carted 
over  the  street  in  one  day  now  than  was  used  in  the  whole 
town  between  1830  and  1840. 

Those  not  already  mentioned,  then  living  on  Washington 
street,  were  Captain  Warren  Weston  (the  old  Weymouth  and 
Braintree  Academy  stood  just  above   his    place    until  it  was 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  25 

burned  in  1844),  Thomas  Reed,  Chauncey  Williams,  Thomas 
Pray,  Frederic  Pope,  Jonathan  Damon,  David  Richards,  John 
P.  Peterson,  Phillips  Torrey,  Quincy  Hunt,  and  the  old  house 
in  which  "  Granny  "  Cowing  lived.  Mr.  William  Field  began 
to  build  a  house  just  below  where  the  Baptist  Church  now 
stands.  Before  he  completed  it,  it  was  burned.  He  rebuilt 
the  house,  which  is  now  occupied  by  his  son,  Mr.  Granville  E. 
Field. 

Opposite  the  residence  of  Mr.  Francis  H.  Cowing,  on  Com- 
mercial street,  stands  one  of  the  oldest  houses  in  the  town. 
It  is  the  old  Arnold  house,  said  to  have  been  built  in  1698. 
Here  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  met  in  1775.  Later 
it  was  a  hotel,  but  in  my  boyhood  days  it  was  the  home  of  Mr. 
Silas  Binney.  Below  were  the  Curtis  carpenter's  shop  and  the 
stable,  both  burned  about  1834. 

Next  stood  the  house  of  Mr.  Whitcomb  Porter,  a  prominent 
man  in  the  village,  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness on  the  wharves,  and  in  later  years  in  the  insurance  busi- 
ness at  Quincy,  to  which  place  he  removed.  His  two  sons, 
John  and  George,  were  my  schoolmates. 

Opposite  was  the  little  store  where  Miss  C.  A.  Rice  con- 
ducted her  millinery  business.  Miss  Sally  Kingman  also  had 
a  milliner's  shop  over  Tufts  &  Whittemore's  store.  These  did 
all  of  the  milUnery  business  for  the  village,  and  the  families 
were  rare  that  did  not  have  an  account  with  one  or  the  other. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  road,  below,  was  the  lane  that  led 
to  the  almshouse,  which  at  that  time  was  kept  by  Mr.  Silas 
Binney.  Of  him,  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  said  that,  "They 
had  at  all  times  found  the  paupers  of  said  house  well  satisfied 
with  their  treatment  from  the  Master,  and  that  they  have  been 
well  supplied  with  good,  wholesome  food,  when  well,  with 
proper  diet  and  medicine  when  sick ;  and  that  the  clothing  has 
been  decent,  both  for  working  days  and  the  Lord's  day,  and  it 
may  be  emphatically  said  that  their  lot  has  fallen  in  a  pleasant 


26  Reminiscences. 

place  where  they  have  the  Gospel  administered  to  them,  and 
that  their  yoke  is  easy  and  their  burden  is  light." 

Below  Mr.  Porter's  was  the  home  of  Mr.  Ezekiel  Worster, 
father  of  the  late  Mr.  Edwin  P.  Worster.  He  was  a  shoe- 
maker and  later  a  dealer  in  coal  and  wood,  of  the  firm  of 
Worster  &  Chessman. 

On  the  corner  of  Commercial  street  and  the  lane  leading  to 
the  ship-yard  of  the  late  Atherton  W.  Tilden,  father  of  Mr. 
Francis  H.  Tilden,  stood  the  house  of  Colonel  Abram  Thayer. 
About  1825  he  kept  the  hotel  after  Mr.  Arnold.  He  was  the 
father  of  my  schoolmate,  Benjamin  B.  Thayer,  an  apothecary, 
and  afterwards  State  Assayer  for  California. 

Below  was  the  home  of  Mr.  John  Whitmarsh,  of  whom  I 
have  already  spoken.  Opposite  the  wharf  were  the  homes  of 
the  Blanchards.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Blanchard,  prominent  in  town 
affairs  as  Selectman  and  Town-clerk,  died  when  I  was  young. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  read  the  town  records  written  by  him  so 
beautifully.  He  was  the  father  of  the  late  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Blanchard,  so  long  in  the  grain  and  coal  business  with  Mr. 
Joseph  Loud  on  the  wharves.  As  I  recollect,  Mr.  Elisha 
Blanchard  kept  a  vinegar  store  on  the  wharf.  He  was  the 
father  of  Mr.  Isaac  Blanchard.  The  old  house  below  the 
Blanchards  was  occupied  in  the  "  thirties "  by  Mr.  Isaac 
Phillips,  who  in  later  times  lived  in  the  old  red  house  on  Front 
street. 

The  house  now  occupied  by  Major  Eliot  Pierce  was,  at  the 
time  of  which  I  am  writing,  the  home  of  the  Tufts  family,  Mr. 
Quincy  Tufts  and  his  sisters  Susan  and  Mercy, 

Mr.  Tufts,  a  bachelor,  kept  a  store  on  Washington  street  in 
Boston,  for  many  years.  This  was  located  nearly  opposite 
the  Old  South  Church  and  was  one  of  the  best  known  stores 
of  Boston,  where  he  carried  such  a  variety  of  dry  goods  that 
one  could  match  his  buttons,  braids,  silks,  bandana  handker- 
chiefs, etc.     Mr.  Tufts  saved  all  his  wrapping  paper,  assorted 


In  the  "  Thirties y  27 

it,  and  whenever  a  customer  bought  an  article  he  carefully  se- 
lected a  piece  of  just  the  size  for  wrapping.  He  never  wasted 
anything  but  time.  At  the  close  of  life  he  left  his  fortune,  — 
some  twenty  thousand  dollars,  —  to  found  the  Tufts  Library  in 
his  native  town. 

His  father.  Cotton  Tufts,  who  was  for  years  in  company  with 
James  Whittemore  in  a  store  that  stood  where  the  Tufts  Library 
now  stands,  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Cotton  Tufts,  a  man  of  much 
note  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  Dr.  Tufts  was  one  of  the 
original  members  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and 
for  many  years  its  Vice-President.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Convention  which  ratified  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  in  1788.  Born  in  1731,  he  took  his  first  degree  at 
Harvard  College  in  1749,  and  after  studying  medicine  came 
to  Weymouth,  where  he  practiced  until  his  death,  Dec.  8, 
1815. 

In  the  old  house  below,  now  occupied  by  the  Webbs,  lived 
Mr.  James  White. 

Farther  on,  Mr.  Christopher  Webb's  family  lived  in  the 
house  then  located  on  the  corner  of  Commercial  street  and  the 
lane  (now  discontinued)  leading  to  Robbins's  Mill.  The  house 
is  now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Rev.  William  Hyde,  Rector 
of  Trinity  Church.  Mr.  Webb  was  a  lawyer  of  some  note,  and 
I  find  his  name  on  many  legal  documents  of  that  date.  He 
was  a  Representative  for  the  town  in  the  General  Court  for 
eight  years.  He  was  the  father  of  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  Webb 
of  our  village. 

At  that  time  there  was  only  one  secret  society  in  town,  viz. : 
the  Orphans'  Hope  Lodge  of  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons.  This  Lodge  received  its  charter  in  1825,  but  re- 
turned the  same  to  the  Grand  Lodge  in  1833,  on  account  of 
the  strong  Anti-Masonic  agitation  that  swept  over  the  country. 
Some  years  later  the  Lodge  was  revived,  and  its  charter 
restored,  and  it  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condition. 


28  Reminiscences. 

Starting  at  Washington  Square  we  will  now  go  up  Front 
street.  We  first  come  to  the  little  old-fashioned  cottage  where 
the  sisters  of  Captain  Warren  Weston  lived.  Beyond  this 
house  the  land  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  street  was  unoc- 
cupied until  we  arrive  at  the  house  of  the  late  Mr.  Ebenezer 
Richards  (now  occupied  by  his  son,  George  Richards).  In  my 
boyhood  this  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  street  belonged  to 
the  Tufts  family  and  was  covered  with  fine  apple  trees. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  was  Dr.  Noah  Fifield,  who 
came  to  Weymouth  in  1806.  At  that  time  Dr.  Cotton  Tufts 
was  alive,  and  the  old  village  physician  had  most  of  the  practice. 
Dr.  Fifield  became  discouraged  at  first,  and  told  his  troubles  to 
his  friend  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  who  induced  his  father, 
Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Sr.,  to  loan  Dr.  Fifield  the  money 
he  needed,  stating  that  as  Dr.  Tufts  was  aged  he  would 
not  live  long,  and  then  the  practice  would  come  to  Dr. 
Fifield. 

The  price  of  a  visit  from  a  physician  in  those  days  was  fifty 
cents,  including  the  medicine ;  but  the  old  doctor  was  a  good 
collector  of  his  fees  and  died  worth  some  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars. 

To  the  writer  who  was,  in  the  "thirties,"  a  small  boy,  Dr. 
Noah  Fifield  was  a  very  interesting  man.  I  had  then  begun 
to  experiment  with  chemicals.  He  could  tell  me  about  them, 
and  in  connection  with  the  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins  loaned  me  an 
old  Encylopaedia  containing  rules  for  making  fireworks.  These 
were  of  great  use  to  me. 

The  next  house,  owned  by  Eliot  White  of  Braintree,  was  oc- 
cupied as  a  tenement  by  Mr.  Simeon  Cushing  with  whose  son 
I  played  much  in  the  old  house. 

Mr.  Adoram  Clapp  lived  in  the  next  house.  In  after  years 
he  became  a  shoe  merchant,  and  with  his  sons  did  a  large  busi- 
ness. He  represented  the  town  in  the  General  Court  in  1839, 
and  was  a  director  of  the  old  Union  Bank. 


In  the  "  Thirties^  29 

The  next  house  already  referred  to  in  my  Introduction,  was 
my  birthplace.  In  the  "thirties"  Elbridge  Gerry  Hunt  oc- 
cupied the  north  side  of  this  fine  old  estate.  He  was  a  true 
philosopher.  To  him  the  world  seemed  a  pleasant  place.  He 
did  not  worry  about  others.  A  fine  mechanic,  he  could  have 
done  much  had  he  not  so  much  loved  his  ease.  He  was  a 
pleasant  companion,  and  I  always  loved  to  go  with  him  on 
boating  excursions.  His  four  sons  now  live  in  the  beauti- 
ful old  house. 

The  next  house  was  the  home  of  the  ship-carpenter,  the  late 
Mr.  Atherton  W.  Tilden  (where  Trinity  Church  is  now  stand- 
ing). His  three  sons  Thomas,  Francis  H.,  and  Atherton, 
were  my  schoolmates  in  the  Fourth  District.  Mr.  Francis  H. 
Tilden  is  now  living,  in  his  83d  year. 

Opposite  Adoram  Clapp's  lived  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt 
Richards.  Like  many  others  he  was  a  shoemaker  and  in  later 
years  became  a  manufacturer  of  shoes.  He  was  a  deacon  of 
the  Union  Congregational  Church. 

Opposite  Mr.  Tilden's  lived  Mr.  Josiah  Thayer,  of  whom  I 
can  recollect  but  little,  excepting  his  apple  trees  that  hung  over 
the  school-yard  fence  so  temptingly.  His  son,  the  late  Chapin 
Thayer,  in  after  years  was  a  large  shoe  manufacturer. 

The  old  shoe  manufactory  was  next  above  the  school  yard, 
occupied  for  a  number  of  years  by  my  father.  Major  Hunt, 
and  later  by  Elias  Richards  ;  close  by  was  the  Coolidge  family, 
Mr.  William  Coolidge,  opposite  the  manufactory  of  Russell  & 
Buckman,  a  Boston  firm,  Josiah  Richards  managing  the  busi- 
ness. In  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  John  E.  Hunt  was 
Luke  Bicknell,  a  house  mason ;  he  had  three  boys,  my  school- 
mates, Luke,  David,  and  Wallace, 

Above  lived  widow  Eben  Hunt  and  her  three  sons,  Na- 
thaniel, Charles,  and  Richard ;  all  were  good  musicians  and 
composed  the  orchestra  of  the  old  church  before  the  organ 
came. 


30  Reminiscences. 

Opposite  for  a  number  of  years  lived  James  Whittemore,  so 
long  in  company  with  Cotton  Tufts  ;  he  had  two  sons,  Augus- 
tus and  Quincy.  Augustus  was  a  merchant  in  Boston  for 
many  years.  Mr.  Elias  Richards  lived  here  in  after-years,  and 
was  a  manufacturer  of  boots  in  the  old  shop  by  the  school- 
house. 

Mr.  Richards  was  a  prominent  abolitionist  and  prohibitionist, 
and  a  hard  fighter  for  what  he  thought  right  (always  in  the 
front  with  Garrison  and  Thompson).  He  was  the  father  of 
Mr.  Austin  Richards,  now  of  New  York,  my  old  companion  in 
the  Weymouth  Band,  a  fine  singer  in  later  days. 

There  was  no  other  house  on  this  side  of  the  street  until  we 
come  to  the  old  brick  basement  house  by  the  burying  ground, 
now  occupied  by  Frederick  Gushing,  —  we  always  called  him 
Uncle  Fred  —  one  of  the  old-fashioned  shoemakers  ;  he  worked 
in  the  shop  opposite  his  house  where  I  was  always  at  work  on 
something  or  other,  and  he  was  always  interested.  Afterwards 
he  went  to  Boston  and  had  a  cobbling  shop,  and  one  day  was 
found  dead  on  his  work  bench. 

This  old  shop  of  my  father's  was  my  laboratory  for  years. 
Here  I  put  in  practice  all  I  had  learned  of  my  old  master,  Mr. 
Foster. 

Next  above  on  the  street  was  my  father's  house.  Major  Elias 
Hunt.  He  was  always  engaged  in  the  shoe  business  in  the  early 
years  with  his  brothers,  Eben  and  William,  and  afterwards  by 
himself.  My  father  built  this  house  in  183 1,  living  here  one 
year  and  then  going  to  Boston.  While  there,  the  Balch 
Gowing  family  occupied  it  before  moving  into  my  grand- 
father's (Deacon  Hunt)  old  house,  nearly  opposite  the  home- 
stead, which  he  built  and  lived  in  till  his  death  in  1832. 

Deacon  Hunt,  Golonel  Minot  Thayer  and  Deacon  Newcomb, 
were  prominent  in  organizing  the  Union  Ghurch,  —  Mr.  Hunt 
being  its  first  deacon  with  Mr.  Newcomb,     He  was  a  farmer 


In  the  "  Thirties^  JI 

and  worked  on  the  farm  in  the  summer,  and  in  the  winter  man- 
ufactured shoes.  His  family  was  noted  for  its  fine  musicians, 
the  Deacon  being  the  first  treasurer  of  the  Union  Church 
choir  from  1817  till  1823.  His  sons,  Ebenezer  and  William, 
were  in  18 17  president  and  vice-president,  continuing  five  years. 
His  son  Elias  was  president  thirteen  years,  and  his  grandson, 
A.  N.  Hunt,  was  president  fifteen  years. 

Mr,  David  Gushing,  Deacon  Hunt's  nephew,  the  brother  of 
Mr.  Simeon  Gushing,  was  no  doubt  the  best  singer  the  town 
had  ever  seen. 

Deacon  Hunt's  first  wife  was  Susannah  Bowditch,  who  died 
in  1806;  she  was  the  mother  of  all  his  children.  His  only 
daughter,  Susannah,  married  Mr.  Galeb  Stetson  of  Braintree. 
He  then  married  the  widow  Tirza  Bates  ;  she  was  the  mother 
of  Mrs.  Balch  Gowing,  Mrs.  Warren  Weston,  and  Joshua  Bates, 
the  noted  banker  of  London,  England,  After  Deacon  Hunt 
died  in  1832,  Mr.  Balch  Gowing  occupied  the  house  until  widow 
Hunt  died  in  1841. 

Above,  on  the  same  side  of  the  road,  was  the  house  so  long 
occupied  by  Mr.  Otis  Smith.  I  think  Mr.  Addison  Ghessman 
lived  here  at  this  time.  I  well  remember  the  cider  mill  that  in 
the  fall  of  the  year  was  always  grinding,  groaning  and  squeak- 
ing ;  the  boys  gathered  around  to  suck  the  sweet  cider  through 
straws,  and  the  bees  and  flies  filled  the  air. 

Top  of  the  hill  beyond,  was  the  house  of  Deacon  Zichri 
Nash,  with  his  shop  where  he  and  his  sons  Zichri  and  Thomas 
worked, 

Mr,  Eben  Hunt,  Jr,,  manufactured  shoes  in  this  old  shop 
years  before,  and  it  was  in  a  tree  in  front  of  this  shop  where 
on  his  return  from  Boston  one  day,  he  found  his  son  Emmons  at 
work  on  a  shoe  ;  asking  him  what  he  had  done,  Emmons  said : 
"  After  I  have  finished  the  shoe  I  am  at  work  on  and  two  pairs 
more,  I  shall  have  made  three  pairs !  "  There  were  jokers  in 
those  days,  and  Emmons  Hunt  was  one. 


32  Reminiscences. 

Across  the  way  lived  Mr.  George  Nash.  I  remember  him 
as  the  master  of  the  sloop  "  Irene,"  who  at  times  took  all  his 
neighbors  down  the  harbor  on  excursions.  His  son  George 
was  my  schoolmate,  and  we  played  together.  On  the  same 
side  of  the  way  was  the  house  of  Captain  Timothy  Nash, 
father  of  Gilbert  Nash. 

Captain  Timothy  Nash  worked  on  shoes  in  his  later  years, 
and  took  apprentices,  one  of  whom  I  well  remember.  His 
name  was  William  Burroughs,  who  after  his  apprenticeship  be- 
came a  branch  pilot.  When  a  boy  at  the  Captain's,  he  made 
a  large  rocket,  as  he  called  it,  and  went  into  the  pasture  to  fire 
it.  Most  of  the  boys  in  the  neighborhood  went  with  him  ;  each 
paid  one  cent,  but  as  I  had  no  cent  I  did  not  go,  neither  did  the 
rocket  go  as  I  soon  learned. 

Above  lived  Mr.  Jacob  Loud,  who  at  that  time  was  a  boat- 
man running  a  stone  sloop.  His  son  Richard  was  my  school- 
mate in  Mr.  Foster's  school. 

Opposite  Mr.  Loud's  house  lived  Mr.  Nathaniel  Richards,  the 
father  of  Frank  and  Alden  now  deceased,  Edward,  and  Mrs. 
Avis  Smith.  Above  lived  Nathaniel  Richards,  Jr.,  the  father 
of  the  late  Francis  Richards. 

Opposite  was  the  home  of  Mr.  Josiah  Richards.  I  remem- 
ber him  as  a  shoe  manufacturer  for  Russell  &  Buckman. 
His  son,  Jacob  Richards,  was  one  of  my  schoolmates,  and  his 
daughter  Elizabeth  was  the  wife  of  my  brother  Eben  Hunt, 
now  living  in  Orlando,  Fla. 

In  the  next  house  south  of  Josiah  Richards  lived  Mr.  Thomas 
Richards.  He  was  a  good  musician  and  my  father's  friend. 
His  son  was  Elbridge  Richards. 

Back  from  the  street,  nearly  opposite  Captain  Timothy  Nash's 
house,  stood  an  old  red  house  in  which  Mr.  Isaac  Phillips  lived 
in  the  late  **  thirties."  He  worked  on  stone  and  was  the  father 
of  my  neighbor  Mr.  John  Phillips,  and  of  the  late  Captain  Joshua 
Phillips.     Deacon  Isaac  Phillips  and  "  Uncle  "  Chauncey  Wil- 


In  the  "  Thirties  y  53 

liams  were  noted  men  of  the  village,  being  one  and  inseparable 
in  their  plans  and  purposes.  Every  stone  about  our  village 
shows  the  marks  of  their  work. 

In  the  "  thirties  "  there  was  one  old  house  standing  in  the 
fork  of  the  roads  (Summer  and  Front  streets).  The  front  of 
this  was  on  Summer  street,  and  the  back  on  Front  street.  It 
occupied  the  site  of  the  house  owned  by  Mr.  Thomas  E.  Mellen. 
This  was  the  home  of  Mr.  Zachariah  Bates,  an  olden  time 
shoemaker,  and  a  musician  who  played  the  bassoon  in  the  old 
time  orchestras  of  Weymouth.  He  sold  his  house  and  land 
to  Mr.  David  Hunt,  who  built  the  house  now  owned  by  the 
heirs  of  Mr.  Mellen.  The  old  house  was  moved  above  on 
Summer  street,  and  was  for  many  years  occupied  by  Mr., 
Simeon  Gushing. 

Going  back  on  Front  street  to  the  corner  of  Sterling  street, 
here  stood  the  shoe  shop  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  but  within 
my  recollection  occupied  by  his  sons  Nathaniel,  Charles  and 
Richard  Hunt.  I  can  now  seem  to  see  Emmons  Hunt,  the 
older  brother  and  a  very  large  man,  sitting  in  the  old  shop  in 
an  arm  chair.  He  was  always  full  of  fun  and  of  music,  playing 
the  violin  by  rote  from  hearing  his  brothers  play  by  note.  The 
house  of  Mr.  Richard  Lloyd  Hunt  now  stands  where  the  old 
shop  was. 

As  I  remember,  we  all  went  down  by  the  Fore  river  to  Ezra 
Leach's  farm  —  now  the  Wainwright  farm  —  to  dig  clams  and 
have  a  chowder.  While  waiting  for  the  chowder,  we  all  went 
into  the  water  for  a  swim  excepting  Emmons  Hunt.  Upon 
being  asked  why  he  did  not  go  in  with  us  he  jokingly  replied 
that  it  most  killed  him  to  wash  his  face. 

Above  the  Hunt  shop  was  the  little  cottage  where  for  many 
years  lived  Mr.  Ebenezer  Nash  and  his  son-in-law,  Mr.  Isaac 
Leach,  With  Mr.  Nash  also  lived  his  son,  Prince  E.  Nash, 
who  worked  in  Mr.  Atherton  N.  Hunt's  shoe  shop,  and  after- 
wards removed  to  Danvers,  Mass.     In  after  time  the  little 


34  Reminiscences. 

house  grew  in  size  and  was  used  for  many  kinds  of  business. 
My  friend  Mr.  Charles  P.  Hunt,  and  his  brother  the  late  John 
E.  Hunt,  afterwards  manufactured  boots  here. 

The  next  house  was  owned  by  Mr.  David  Tirrell,  but  the  old 
house  was  torn  down  long  ago.  In  after  years  Mr.  George  M. 
Porter  purchased  the  place  and  lived  there  until  about  1897, 
and  there  his  family  still  live.  David  Tirrell's  son,  Franklin 
Tirrell,  a  schoolmate  of  mine,  built  the  house  in  which  the  Por- 
ter family  live.  The  land  adjoining  was  owned  by  Mr.  Zach- 
ariah  Bates,  upon  which  stood  an  old  barn  by  the  road.  Mr. 
Bates  had  an  apple  orchard  just  below  the  burying-ground 
called  "The  Paddock,"  which  was  enclosed  by  the  land  of 
Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt. 

Above  Mr.  Bates's  land  was  the  manufactory  of  Mr,  David 
Hunt,  who  had  a  large  shoe  business  for  those  times.  Mr. 
Hunt  met  with  reverses  in  his  business  here,  and  went  to 
Boston  in  the  "forties,"  where  he  became  a  wealthy  man  and 
died  some  years  ago.  Mr.  Hunt  manufactured  above  in  his 
shop  and  had  a  grocery  store  below.  Mr.  Simeon  Gushing 
worked  for  Mr.  Hunt,  and  his  son  Simeon  had  charge  of  the 
store.  David  Hunt's  father,  Asa  Hunt,  lived  in  the  next 
house,  which  was  built  before  1750,  and  which  is  now  occupied 
by  Mrs.  Byron  Hunt.  Mr.  Asa  Hunt  was  a  man  of  the  old 
school,  a  farmer  having  a  deal  of  land,  and  a  shoe  manufac- 
turer. His  son  George  was  a  playmate  and  schoolmate  of 
mine.  Mr.  Samuel  Cook  lived  next  door.  He  was,  I  think,  at 
that  time  a  currier  of  calf  skins.  He  was  an  easy,  good- 
natured  man  and  a  pleasant  man  to  meet. 

Opposite  Mr.  Cook's  was  the  house  of  Mr.  Daniel  Hunt. 
For  many  years  he  ran  a  stone  sloop,  "The  Purser."  His 
daughter  Maria  was  of  my  age,  and  together  we  went  to 
school.     Afterwards  she  married  Mr.  E.  Atherton  Hunt. 

On  Summer  street  there  were  no  other  houses  until  we 
come  to  the  old  Ebenezer  Kingman  house.     The  land  between 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  3S 

was  owned  by  my  father,  coming  to  him  from  Deacon  Eben- 
ezer  Hunt  who  bought  the  same  from  Mr.  Kingman. 

Mrs.  Kingman  did  not  sign  the  deed,  which  caused  my 
father  much  trouble  in  after  years,  the  widow  claiming  her 
dower.  This  trouble  was  carried  into  the  church,  as  many 
other  personal  matters  were  in  those  times,  and  placed  the 
Rev.  Jonas  Perkins  in  a  very  difficult  position.  However,  my 
father  paid  the  widow  a  dowry  of  {^12.50  a  year  on  this 
land. 

Of  Mr.  Kingman  I  have  little  remembrance,  as  he  was  an 
old  man  when  I  was  a  small  boy.  There  were  many  shellbark 
trees  back  of  his  house,  and  the  old  gentleman  was  always 
on  the  watch  to  see  that  no  boy  got  at  the  nuts.  His  son, 
Ebenezer  Kingman,  Jr.,  lived  opposite,  in  the  "thirties."  I  re- 
member how  my  father's  bees  used  to  swarm  in  May,  coming 
out  of  the  old  hive  and  lighting  on  some  branch  of  a  near-by 
tree.  Mr.  Kingman  used  to  hive  the  bees  for  my  father.  I  can 
see  him  now  with  his  face  and  hands  well  covered,  holding  an 
empty  hive  under  the  swarm  and  giving  the  Hmb  a  shake,  drop- 
ping them  into  the  hive.  My  father  always  gave  Mr.  Kingman 
twenty-five  cents  for  doing  the  job. 

Taking  the  honey  was  my  work.  I  used  to  dig  a  hole  in  the 
ground,  stick  brimstone  matches  around  the  sides,  and  lighting 
them,  place  the  hive  over  the  hole.  The  fumes  of  sulphur 
smothered  the  bees ;  they  dropped  into  the  hole  and  left  the 
honey  free.  Mr.  Kingman's  sons,  Ebenezer  and  Amos,  were 
my  companions.  In  the  early  "  thirties  "  Mr.  Kingman  lived 
on  the  Tufts  farm  above,  on  Summer  street. 

The  Job  Nash  house  was  some  distance  up  the  street,  but  it 
is  now  gone.  I  remember  his  daughter.  Miss  Nancy  Nash, 
who  lived  in  the  old  house  for  many  years  after  her  father. 

Deacon  John  P.  Nash  lived  next  above.  He  was  a  Deacon 
of  the  Union  Church  and  a  good  man.  His  brother  was  Cap- 
tain Timothy  Nash  ;   his   sons,  John  Prince,  long  connected 


36  Reminiscences. 

with  the  Union  Church,  and  Deacon  Stephen  and  Erastus,  have 
all  passed  away. 

Mr.  Albert  Hunt,  a  brother  of  Asa  Hunt  already  referred  to, 
lived  in  the  next  house.  He  too,  was  an  old-fashioned  shoe- 
maker, and  his  sons  were  my  schoolmates  also. 

Close  by  lived  Messrs.  Jacob,  Eliphas  and  Abner  D.  Tirrell. 
Eliphas  Tirrell's  son,  Eliphas,  became  a  lawyer  and  lived  in 
Quincy.     A  daughter  married  George  Nash. 

A  little  way  above  we  come  to  the  old  Tufts  estate.  Here 
in  the  early  "  thirties  "  I  used  to  go  for  milk,  when  Mr.  Eben- 
ezer  Kingman,  Jr.,  lived  there.  In  those  days  there  were  no 
milkmen  carrying  milk  about  town  as  to-day. 

Above  was  the  house  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Bates,  which  was 
later  occupied  by  Mr.  Francis  Richards. 

Near-by  lived  Mr.  Thomas  Colson,  who  manufactured  shoes, 
and  near  him  lived  Mr.  James  Hollis,  whose  son,  Mr.  "  Bart." 
Hollis,  is  one  of  our  village  stablemen. 

The  last  house  on  Summer  street  in  the  "  thirties  "  was  Mr. 
Caleb  Joy's.  His  son,  Noah  Joy,  still  lives  on  Middle  street. 
All  of  these  people  were  farmers  in  a  small  way,  but  relied  on 
their  trade  of  shoemaking  for  a  living.  Back  of  Thomas  Col- 
son's,  the  land  was  called  the  Whitman  place,  from  the  fact 
that  a  Mr.  Whitman  once  lived  there.  The  old  cellar  still  re- 
mains, although  it  is  many  years  since  the  house  was  standing 
there.  Here  my  father  used  to  point  out  a  large,  flat  stone, 
where  it  was  said  that  Mrs.  Whitman  died  on  a  cold  night 
from  exposure,  being  unable  to  get  into  her  home  on  account 
of  intemperate  habits. 

Close  by  Summer  street  is  "  Pond  Meadow,"  where  we  used 
to  go  to  get  fresh  hay.  In  my  boyhood  days  after  the  English 
hay  had  been  harvested,  the  fresh  grass  had  to  be  cut  and 
made.  This  was  quite  an  event.  One  was  sent  down  to  the 
sea-shore  to  get  a  bucket  of  clams,  and  another  was  selected  to 
make  the  chowder.    My  father  was  a  good  man  with  the 


In  the  "  Thirties"  37 

scythe.  Of  the  men  with  him,  I  remember  John  Chessman, 
Addison  Chessman  and  Ebenezer  Kingman.  The  meadow  was 
always  wet,  and  so  the  Chessmans  pulled  off  their  boots  and 
stockings  and  went  to  their  work  barefooted  with  their  trousers 
turned  up.  Woe  to  snakes  !  for  if  one  was  seen  he  was  caught 
by  the  tail,  and  with  a  snap,  off  came  his  head.  Rum  and  mo- 
lasses, calledv "  black  strap,"  was  the  drink  taken,  while  the 
chowder  was  being  prepared.  At  noon  the  chowder  was  ready 
and  all  gathered  under  the  great  apple  tree  for  dinner.  To  get 
the  fresh  grass  was  hard  work,  but  the  way  the  work  was  done 
brought  enjoyment  to  all. 

After  the  fresh  grass  was  harvested,  the  old  hay-cart  was 
loaded  up  with  good  things  to  eat  and  to  drink ;  seats  were 
rigged  in,  and  all  went  down  to  Nantasket  Beach.  On  our 
way  we  stopped  under  the  great  elm  in  Hingham  for  both 
lunch  and  punch. 

At  Nantasket  we  stopped  at  a  place  then  called  "  Black 
Jim's,"  on  "  Whitehead,"  there  being  a  large  barn  to  sleep  in 
at  night.  On  arriving,  the  horses  were  taken  out  and  hitched 
to  the  fence.  The  boys,  always  three  or  four,  would  make  for 
the  beach,  while  the  men  would  sit  around,  smoking  their 
pipes  and  hoping  that  nothing  would  happen  at  home  from 
their  being  away.  After  supper  all  would  turn  in  to  the  old 
barn,  to  sleep  on  the  haymow. 

Mr.  Zachariah  Bates  always  went  on  these  annual  excur- 
sions, and  at  night  he  was  at  his  liveliest.  There  was  no 
sleeping  if  he  could  prevent  it.  He  was  full  of  stories,  and  if 
he  could  get  possession  of  an  old  gun  and  powder  he  would 
bang  it  off  all  night.  We  boys  enjoyed  the  fun  and  helped 
things  along. 

When  morning  came,  all  were  tired  and  cross  and  by  noon 
were  ready  to  start  for  home.  If  we  reached  the  Old  Colony 
House  early  in  the  afternoon,  we  would  stop  a  while  in  the  grove, 
while  the  men  finished  with  a  "  snifter  "  before  taking  their 


38  Reminiscences. 

last  leave  for  home  and  of  the  haying  season.  We  repeated 
this  each  year  till  the  temperance  revival  came  in  1840. 
Those  who  went  on  these  excursions  were :  Frederick  Gush- 
ing, Ebenezer  and  William  Kingman,  Zachariah  Bates,  John 
and  Addison  Chessman,  my  father.  Major  Elias  Hunt,  the 
Kingman  boys,  my  brother  Ebenezer  and  myself. 

Before  the  Universalist  Church  was  organized,  all  the  folks 
in  the  village  attended  the  Union  Church,  where  preached  the 
Rev.  Jonas  Perkins  from  1815  to  i860.  The  choir  of  this 
society  was  noted  all  the  country  about  for  its  fine  musicians 
and  singers.  Of  the  singers  in  the  "  thirties "  were  Major 
Elias  Hunt,  Mr.  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  Mr.  Elias  Richards,  Mr. 
John  Wildes,  Mr.  Thomas  Webb,  and  Mr.  Hiram  Cushing. 
These  and  many  others  were  all  noted  singers  of  those  times. 

Mrs.  Elias  Richards,  a  sister  to  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  sang 
soprano,  and  those  who  heard  her  never  heard  a  better  voice. 
Mr.  Richards  went  to  hear  Jenny  Lind  sing,  and  upon  return- 
ing was  asked  how  he  liked  her.  He  replied  that  he  had 
heard  only  one  better,  and  that  one  was  his  wife.  This  choir, 
from  its  beginning  in  18 17  to  1840,  was  without  doubt  one  of 
the  best  in  the  country.  Mr.  John  Wildes  was  a  noted  basso, 
and  taught  singing  for  years,  all  the  country  around. 

The  old  choir  was  organized  in  1817,  and  the  records  read 
as  follows :  — 

The  subscribers,  members  of  the  Union  Religious  Society  of 
Braintree  and  Weymouth,  feeling  impressed  with  the  great  import- 
ance and  utility  of  sacred  music  correctly  performed  as  constituting 
a  part  of  the  public  worship  of  God,  also  viewing  the  frequent  in- 
stances of  unhappy  discord  and  dissention  among  choirs  of  singers, 
proceeding  as  we  believe  partly  from  want  of  system  in  their  forma- 
tion and  partly  from  want  of  that  spirit  of  mutual  affection,  forbear- 
ance and  long-suffering  so  indispensably  necessary  in  such  society ; 
and  realizing  the  practical  excellency  of  the  divine  precept,  "  Let 
all  things   be  done   decently  and   in  order:"  we    have,  therefore, 


In  the  "  Thirties y  39 

agreed  to  associate  ourselves  together  as  a  regularly  organized  sing- 
ing society,  for  the  purpose  of  united  and  zealous  exertion  to  perfect 
ourselves  in  that  delightful  science,  and  have  in  pursuance  of  that 
object,  after  mature  deliberation,  adopted  the  following  constitution 
or  form  of  government  for  said  society : 

Article  i.  This  society  shall  be  called  the  Union  Singing  Society 
of  Braintree  and  Weymouth. 

Passing  from  Article  i  to  Article  12,  as  this  is  most  unique  : 

Article  12.  We  do  hereby  individually  bind  ourselves  to  strive 
earnestly  to  promote  a  spirit  of  mutual  affection,  forbearance  and 
long-suffering,  so  that  no  root  of  bitterness  may  ever  spring  up  to 
trouble  us,  but  that  we  may  long  be  united  as  a  band  of  brothers, 
evidencing  by  our  conduct  that  the  delightful  strains  of  melody  are 
not  in  vain  upon  our  lips,  but  that  our  hearts  are  thereby  warmed 
with  a  flame  of  love,  not  only  toward  our  God  who  gave  us  these 
faculties  we  possess,  but  toward  each  other,  showing  itself  in  acts  of 
mutual  and  earnest  exertion  to  promote  each  other's  spiritual  good 
and  temporal  comfort,  prosperity  and  happiness,  that  eventually, 
although  the  hand  of  death  may  arrest  us  and  separate  us  from  em- 
ployments for  which  we  now  unite,  we  may  be  prepared  to  join  the 
Glorious  Choir  above,  whose  constant  employment  is  to  chant  an 
eternal  anthem  of  glad  Hosannas  to  Him  who  died  and  rose  again, 
and  is  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  His  Father.  Depending  upon 
that  blessing  which  cometh  down  from  above,  we  now  declare  by 
this  public  act  that  we  are  determined  zealously  and  perseveringly 
to  render  every  aid  and  assistance  in  our  power  both  by  precept 
and  example,  to  promote  the  judicious  performance  by  a  full  choir 
of  publick  singing  in  the  Meeting  House  of  the  society. 

The  foregoing  was  drawn  up  by  Mr.  John  C.  Welsh.  The 
first  members  of  the  society  were :  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Thomas 
Gushing,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  Samuel  Hunt,  John  Gushing, 
Thomas  Richards,  Jr.,  David  Joy,  Lebbeus  Leach,  Harvey 
Bates,  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  William  Bates,  David  Gushing, 
John  Kingman,  David  Welsh,  John  P.  Nash,  Elias  Richards, 


40  Reminiscences. 

John  C.  Welsh,  Stephen  Nash,  Elias  Hunt,  WiUiam  Bowditch, 
William  Hunt,  Zachri  Bates,  Nathaniel  Pratt,  Justin  Littlefield, 
Spencer  Cushman,  Minot  Kingman,  Warren  Nash,  George 
Nash,  Robert  Bates,  William  Kingman,  Oran  Nash,  Caleb 
Stetson,  Dexter  Vinal,  Elisha  Wales,  Cornelius  Arnold,  Simeon 
Cushing,  Jesse  Leach,  Benjamin  Bowditch,  Loring  W.  Reed, 
Elisha  N.  Thayer,  Eben  C.  Thayer,  Jacob  Terrill,  Joseph 
Welsh,  George  Vickers,  Rachel  Faxon,  Hannah  Reed,  Ruthy 
Bowditch,  Eliza  Hollis,  Tabitha  Kingman,  Eliza  Nash,  Mary 
Vinton,  Priscilla  Damon,  Elizabeth  Hunt,  Susan  Hunt,  Mary 
Joice,  Margaret  Dole,  Mary  Reed,  Mary  Stetson,  Hannah 
Cushing,  Harriet  Wade,  Deborah  Richards,  Sara  Richards, 
Martha  Pater,  Edward  Cushing. 

In  1824  the  following  new  members  came  in  :  Emmons 
Hunt,  George  Blanchard,  William  Nash,  Samuel  Bowditch, 
Ebenezer  Richards,  Samuel  Reed,  Edward  Pray,  George  Pray, 
Jr.,  Thomas  Jordan,  Loring  White,  Alexander  Bowditch, 
Joseph  Porter,  Ziba  Hunt,  William  Hayward,  Alexander  S. 
Newton,  John  W.  Loud,  George  W.  Arnold,  Samuel  Cook, 
Atherton  Wade,  Henry  B.  Cowing,  Hiram  Cushing,  Benjamin 
T.  Bowditch,  John  Wild,  Minot  Newton,  Alden  Bowditch, 
Lincoln  Newton,  James  South,  Silas  Binney,  Daniel  Lane, 
William  B.  Coolidge,  Jesse  Burrell,  Thomas  C.  Webb,  Nathan- 
iel Richards,  2nd,  Nathaniel  Hunt,  Adoniram  J.  Bowditch, 
Henry  Hobart,  Henry  Newton,  Nehemiah  White,  Thomas 
Reed,  Jr.,  Richard  A.  Hunt,  Watson  Matthews,  Charles  E. 
Hunt,  Elias  W.  Nash,  Charles  Hobart,  Gilman  Thomson, 
Rufus  K.  Trott,  Josiah  Perkins  and  N.  L.  White. 

On  Sunday  evening,  Dec.  7,  18 17,  the  new  society  met  at 
the  Braintree  school-house,  and  there  the  constitution  was 
read,  accepted  and  signed  by  all  the  members  present.  Then 
proceeding  to  choose  officers,  Mr.  John  C.  Welsh  was  chosen 
secretary  ;  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  president ;  Mr.  William 
Hunt,  vice-president ;  David  Cushing,  John  P.  Nash  and  Sam- 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  41 

uel  Hunt,  choristers ;  Mr.  David  Welsh,  Stephen  Nash,  and 
John  Kingman,  standing  committee ;  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt, 
treasurer  ;  William  Bates  and  John  Gushing,  librarians. 

The  first  service  recorded  was  Sunday,  Dec.  14,  18 17,  when 
Rev.  R.  S.  Storrs,  of  the  old  Congregational  Church  in  Brain- 
tree,  preached.  Dr.  Storrs  was  a  man  of  much  note.  In  the 
morning  on  this  Sunday,  the  choir  sang  •*  Wells  "  and  "  Litch- 
field," and  in  the  afternoon  "  Devizes  "  and  "  Grantham."  On 
Sunday  morning,  Dec.  21,  the  pastor,  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins, 
preached,  and  the  choir  sang  "  Castle  Street "  and  "  Christ- 
mas," and  in  the  afternoon  "Slade,"  "Irish"  and  "Paradise." 

Mr.  Perkins  came  from  Bridgewater,  and  preached  about 
forty-five  years  in  the  old  church,  where  he  was  respected  by 
every  one.  In  connection  with  the  beginning  of  the  Union 
Church  I  have  a  letter  written  some  years  ago  by  my  brother, 
Ebenezer  Hunt,  then  in  Florida,  telling  me  that  when  he 
was  a  boy  and  living  with  Colonel  Minot  Thayer,  the  Colonel 
told  him  that  the  church  was  called  the  Union  Church  from 
its  being  organized  by  those  of  different  denominations.  Col- 
onel Thayer  and  Deacon  Hunt  were  Unitarians,  while  Deacon 
Newcomb  was  a  Congregationalist.  Mr.  Whitney  and  other 
ministers  of  the  Unitarian  faith  preached  in  the  church  in  its 
early  days,  and  Colonel  Thayer  may  have  been  right  on  this 
point. 

In  noting  the  men  who  were  first  in  the  church  choir  it 
seems  almost  a  family  affair.  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt  being  at 
its  head.  He  was  the  father  of  Ebenezer,  Jr.,  William  and 
Elias  Hunt.  Thomas  Cushing  and  William  Bowditch  were 
his  brothers-in-law ;  Caleb  Stetson  his  son-in-law ;  David  Cush- 
ing, Hiram  Cushing,  Edward  Cushing  and  Simon  Cushing 
were  his  nephews ;  and  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  his  grandson. 

Deacon  Hunt  was  a  good  musician  and  taught  singing 
school  in  his  younger  days.  He  was  treasurer  of  the  society 
seven  years.     His  eldest  son,  Ebenezer,  Jr.,  was  the  father  of 


42  Reminiscences. 

a  family  all  noted  for  their  musical  ability.  By  his  first  wife, 
Betsey  Nash,  he  had  Atherton,  Elizabeth,  Emmons  and  Susan, 
and  by  his  second  wife,  Eunice,  a  sister  of  his  first  wife,  he  had 
Nathaniel,  Charles  and  Richard.  They  were  all  members  of 
the  choir.  Mr.  Atherton  N.  Hunt  was  president  of  the  society 
sixteen  years,  and  vice-president  seven  years.  His  second 
daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  Mr.  Elias  Richards.  She  was  a 
wonderfully  fine  singer.  It  is  no  discredit  to  the  others  to 
'say  she  was  the  best  soprano  of  the  time.  Mr.  Richards  was 
a  good  musician,  correct  but  not  pleasing.  He  was  president 
of  the  society  from  1831  to  1834,  and  also  vice-president  four 
years.  Mr.  William  Hunt  was  president  in  18 18,  and  vice- 
president  in  1 8 17,  and  from  18 19  to  1821.  He  also  was  a 
good  musician,  but  strange  to  say  none  of  his  family  took  after 
him  in  this  particular. 

Deacon  Hunt's  third  son,  Major  Elias  Hunt,  was  one  of  the 
most  noted  singers  of  his  time.  He  sang  in  the  Old  North 
Church  before  the  Union  Church  was  organized.  Here  as  a 
mere  boy  he  sang  counter  or  high  tenor,  and  his  voice  was 
remarkably  sweet  and  musical,  as  was  that  of  his  niece,  Mrs. 
Elias  Richards.  In  his  early  years  he  sang  in  a  quartette  in 
Boston  with  Jonas  Chickering,  E.  T.  F.  Richardson  and  Mrs. 
Richardson,  in  the  old  King's  Chapel,  and  afterwards  at 
Trinity  Church.  Here  in  Trinity  he  sang  but  a  few  times,  for 
the  reason  that  there  were  no  other  singers  than  himself  and 
he  was  required  to  sing  a  solo  at  each  service ;  this  he  disliked 
to  do. 

He  was  president  of  the  Union  society  thirteen  years  and 
vice-president  nine  years.  He  was  eighteen  years  younger 
than  his  brother  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  of  whom  as  a  boy  he 
thought  much.  His  brother  Ebenezer  taught  singing  school 
in  Randolph,  walking  each  way,  and  my  father  went  with  him 
for  company.  He  told  my  father  that  when  he  had  finished 
this  school   he  would  be  paid  twenty  dollars,  and  with  the 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  43 

money  he  could  buy  him  a  cow.  This  item  tells  a  true  story 
of  the  poverty  of  those  times,  eighty  odd  years  ago. 

Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.,  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in 
the  place,  and  was  a  charter  member  of  the  Handel  and  Haydn 
Society,  instituted  in  181 5. 

To  sing  was  the  pleasure  of  my  father's  life,  and  when  he 
was  eighty  years  old  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  hear  him  sing 
"The  breaking  waves  dashed  high."  Of  the  three  brothers, 
Ebenezer,  William  and  Elias,  it  could  be  said  there  was  noth- 
ing that  they  could  not  sing,  and  nothing  they  could  not  sing 
well. 

Mr.  Thomas  Gushing,  who  married  one  of  Deacon  Hunt's 
sisters,  was  another  good  musician  and  had  four  sons  in  this 
society,  all  good  singers  —  David,  Simeon,  Edward  and  Hiram  ; 
my  father  said  David  Gushing  was  one  of  the  best  singers  of 
the  time. 

Nathaniel,  Gharles  E.  and  Richard  A.  Hunt,  joined  the  so- 
ciety in  the  "thirties;"  they  were  good  singers  and  players 
before  the  organ  came.  Nathaniel  played  the  double  bass, 
Gharles  E.,  the  second  violin,  and  Richard  A.,  the  first  violin. 
On  June  i,  1839,  Mr.  Richard  A.  Hunt  was  chosen  organist, 
which  position  he  held  until  1859,  at  which  time  he  and  his 
brother,  Atherton  N.,  resigned  from  the  choir,  it  being  the  end 
of  the  Hunt  regime. 

Nov.  22,  1833,  Mr.  John  Wildes  was  chosen  vice-president; 
for  many  years  he  was  a  noted  singer  and  teacher  in  and  about 
the  neighboring  towns.  I  remember  him  as  being  a  good 
friend  to  our  Weymouth  Band  in  its  early  days.  Mr.  Thomas 
Webb,  a  member  of  the  society  in  the  "  thirties,"  was  one  of 
the  good  singers  of  the  day,  and  a  brother  to  Henry  Webb,  our 
old  conductor. 

In  the  forty-two  years  of  the  society  (18 17-1859)  there  was 
only  one  break  in  the  line  of  Deacon  Hunt's  family  as  ofBcers 
of  the  choir.     This  was  in  January,  1829,  when  Elisha  Thayer 


44  Reminiscences. 

was  chosen  president  and  Amos  W.  Stetson  vice  president. 
My  cousin,  Richard  A.  Hunt,  told  me  that  at  that  time  there 
was  opposition  to  the  rule  of  the  Hunts,  —  in  fact  there  always 
was,  —  from  the  Binneys,  the  Webbs,  the  Hobarts  and  the 
Thayers  of  Braintree.  At  that  time  they  stole  the  march  on 
the  Hunt  faction  and  ousted  them  all  from  office,  but  at  the 
next  Thanksgiving  time  the  choir  was  a  "dead"  failure,  and 
their  turn  came  to  be  ousted  at  the  next  annual  meeting,  after 
which  things  resumed  their  natural  course. 

Nov.  26,  1839,  3.t  the  regular  meeting  of  the  society,  A.  J. 
Bowditch  was  chosen  secretary ;  Major  Elias  Hunt,  president  ; 
Atherton  N.  Hunt,  vice  president  ;  John  Wilde,  Elias  Richards 
and  John  W.  Loud,  choristers;  A.  J.  Bowditch,  treasurer; 
Silas  Binney,  Ebenezer  Hunt  Richards  and  Josiah  Perkins, 
standing  committee. 

From  the  number  of  members  of  this  choir  of  the  old  Union 
Church  nearly  all  of  those  who  belonged  to  the  church  society 
must  have  been  taken,  but  I  have  made  note  only  of  those  well 
known  to  have  been  singers  and  musicians.  From  1839  I 
know  of  no  one  who  can  furnish  the  record  better  than  my 
friend  Mr.  John  J.  Loud,  so  long  president  of  the  society  in  its 
later  days. 

In  connection  with  the  church  choir,  I  will  state  what  my 
father  told  me  of  the  rehearsals  preparatory  to  the  dedication 
of  the  Union  Church  and  the  ordination  of  its  minister,  June 
14,  181 5.  The  choir  met  for  practice  in  the  old  toll-house  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Fore  river  toll-bridge.  Gathered  about  the 
table  were  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt  with  his  sons,  Ebenezer, 
Jr.,  William  and  Elias,  his  brother-in-law  Thomas  Cushing  with 
his  son  David,  Mr.  William  Bowditch  and  his  brothers.  To 
fortify  themselves,  there  was  on  the  table  a  decanter  of  wine 
and  one  of  rum  with  a  bowl  of  sugar.  All  were  good  singers  ; 
the  Bowditches,  who  were  large  men,  sang  heavy  bass  and  at 
times  came  down  with  great  power.     Deacon  Hunt's  wife,  a 


In  the  "  Thirties:'  45 

singer,  was  there,  and  from  my  father's  account  it  must  have 
been  a  family  party. 

When  the  day  for  the  dedication  came,  one  of  the  pews 
back  in  the  singing  seats  was  used  to  store  the  decanters  in, 
and  as  my  father  told  me,  after  singing  each  song  the  men  of 
the  choir  would  fall  back  and  refresh  themselves,  while  the 
services  were  going  on.  All  who  were  there  have  gone  to 
their  long  home.  These  players  and  singers  were  formed  into 
a  fine  Glee  Club  in  the  late  "thirties," 

Places  of  amusement  were  few  as  compared  with  to-day. 
The  National  Theatre  and  the  Boston,  or  Federal  street 
Theatre,  were  long  the  only  theatres  in  Boston  of  any  account, 
The  Lion  Theatre  was  opened  Jan.  ii,  1836,  giving  equestrian 
performances.  The  first  season  in  Boston  closed  in  April, 
1836,  and  the  company  commenced  a  summer  tour  through 
the  country,  beginning  at  Weymouth.  In  1838  the  Lion 
Theatre  was  sold  and  changed  into  a  concert  hall,  renamed  the 
Melodeon.  The  first  performance  of  "  The  Messiah  "  in  that 
building  was  given  by  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society,  Dec.  9, 

1839. 

The  times  from  1830  to  1840  seem  to  have  been  no  im- 
provement over  the  years  that  had  gone  before.  People 
earned  little  money  and  lived  closely  and  economically.  Land 
was  plenty,  and  nearly  all  obtained  a  good  part  of  their  living 
from  the  same.  By  manufacturing  boots  and  shoes  in  a  small 
way,  they  obtained  money  sufficient  to  buy  what  could  not  be 
raised  from  the  land,  because  there  was  little  to  buy  in  those 
days. 

For  travelling  there  were  no  cars,  but  the  stage  coach,  Wey- 
mouth was  then  quite  a  distance  from  Boston,  and  New  York 
was  a  long  journey  away. 

In  those  days  our  beautiful  cemeteries  had  not  come.  Little 
care  was  given  to  the  old  burying-grounds ;  cattle  ran  at  large 
in  them,  and  Charles  Francis  Adams,  in  his  reminiscences  of 


46  Reminiscences. 

Quincy,  says  that  the  hogs  often  rooted  up  the  grave  stones. 
Nothing  shows  the  poverty  of  those  days  more  than  the  books 
that  have  come  down  to  us.  They  were  made  of  the  cheapest 
printing  and  binding,  while  at  the  same  time  the  most  beautiful 
books  were  made  across  the  ocean,  then  a  much  greater  dis- 
tance in  time  than  now. 

In  our  village  only  one  church-bell  rang.  All  of  the  folks 
went  to  the  old  Union  Church,  and  as  I  look  back  I  see  all  the 
square  pews  occupied,  —  those  old  pews  should  never  have 
been  removed,  for  those  who  occupied  them  so  long  felt  ill  at 
ease  in  the  new-fangled  ones.  All  the  sentiment  associated 
with  the  old  church  went  out  with  the  old  pews  that  the  fathers 
had  sat  in  so  long. 

One  cause  of  the  poverty  of  those  times  was,  I  think,  the 
lack  of  occupations  in  the  village.  There  was  nothing  for  one 
to  do  but  to  make  boots  and  shoes,  or  work  in  the  little  black- 
smith and  wheelwright  shops,  or  as  a  carpenter.  At  that  time 
the  latter  used  to  frame  and  board  a  house,  and  then  use  it  for 
his  workshop  in  which  he  made  the  doors,  sashes  and  blinds. 
The  only  place  in  the  village  where  steam  was  used  was  in  the 
old  steam  factory  on  the  wharf.  The  tailoring  for  the  men 
was  done  by  Mr.  Adlington,  while  the  boys'  clothing  was  made 
by  seamstresses. 

I  look  back  to  the  days  when  the  sister  made  her  brothers' 
shirts,  long,  long  ago ;  then  she  made  her  bridal  garments  in 
the  old  home,  and  in  time  the  baby  clothes. 

How  well  I  remember  the  days  of  my  youth  1  When  night 
came  on,  my  father,  wearied  from  the  work  of  the  field  —  plow- 
ing the  ground,  planting  and  hoeing  the  corn  and  potatoes, 
mowing  the  grass  and  harvesting  the  crops,  and  the  boys  all 
helping  along  the  work  of  the  day,  would  return  to  the  old 
home  so  hungry  and  tired ;  then  all  would  gather  around  the 
supper  table,  and  afterwards  get  out  their  books  or  games  for 
the  evening. 


In  the  "  Thirties"  47 

Father,  getting  his  pipe  and  tobacco,  would  enjoy  a  com- 
fortable smoke  all  so  peacefully.  We  boys  then  found  our 
story  books,  and  accompanied  Caesar  on  his  marches  and  Rob- 
inson Crusoe  to  his  lonely  island  home. 

Mother,  after  clearing  away  the  supper,  would  sit  down  but 
not  to  rest  —  there  was  no  rest  for  mother  —  she  must  mend 
the  stockings,  sew  on  the  buttons,  and  see  that  our  clothes 
were  ready  for  the  morrow.  No,  the  mother  of  my  boyhood 
days  had  no  rest,  always  finding  more  than  her  hands  could  do. 
As  the  evening  wore  on,  the  boys,  getting  sleepy,  would  go  to 
bed ;  father  asleep  in  his  chair  and  the  house  wrapped  in  the 
stillness  of  night,  mother  would  say,  "Now  I  will  rest." 

Presently  the  children  are  all  in  bed  and  nothing  but  the 
ticking  of  the  old  clock  breaks  in  upon  the  stillness  of  the 
hour.  Then  mother  approaches  father,  saying,  "  Elias,  wake 
up,  it  is  time  to  go  to  bed.  You  must  be  up  early  in  the 
morning." 

Still  mother  sits  alone,  stitching,  sewing,  mending ;  but  she 
is  not  thinking  of  what  she  is  doing ;  her  mind  is  on  the  years 
gone  by.  She  takes  up  the  Bible  and  reads  a  chapter,  and  so 
ends  the  long  day.     This  is  the  old  home  that  I  knew. 

Few  were  the  comforts  we  had.  In  winter  the  house  was 
cold.  We  had  no  stoves,  but  large,  open  fire-places  for  burn- 
ing wood.  Here  was  placed  a  large  back-log  with  small  wood 
in  front,  which  furnished  the  fire  for  warming  the  house.  Be- 
fore the  great  roaring  fire  was  a  high-back  settle  where  the  old 
people  sat  to  keep  warm.  This  was  in  the  kitchen,  or  living- 
room  of  the  house ;  all  the  other  rooms  were  unheated. 

In  my  boyhood  the  two  men  of  most  note  in  the  village  and 
who  commanded  the  most  respect  were  the  minister  and  the 
doctor.  They  were  worthy  of  regard,  as  they  brought  all  into 
the  world  and  saw  all  out.  They  were  men  of  dignity  and 
self-respect.  To  meet  our  minister,  the  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins, 
was  a  great  pleasure.     As  the  children  all  went  to  his  church, 


48  Reminiscences. 

at  that  time  the  only  one  in  the  village,  he  always  visited  the 
schools  of  the  "  Fourth  District."  He  knew  the  father  and 
mother  of  every  child  in  school,  and  had  a  pleasant  word  for 
every  one. 

Dr.  Appleton  Howe,  of  South  Weymouth,  and  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Emery,  of  the  north  part  of  the  town,  were  the  school 
committee.  When  Dr.  Howe  visited  school  he  criticised 
much,  but  the  Rev.  Mr.  Emery,  always  pleasant,  was  much 
liked. 

Although  not  officially  connected  with  the  schools,  Dr.  Noah 
Fifield  was  a  great  personality  in  the  place.  Being  the  only 
doctor,  he  helped  all  into  the  world  and  cared  for  their  health 
ever  afterwards.  So  he  became  acquainted  with  every  one, 
and  at  some  time  in  life  was  earnestly  sought  for  by  all. 

Revivals  were  common  in  the  "  thirties,"  occurring  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  usually  in  February  and  March  —  a  cold 
and  cheerless  season  when  one  would  naturally  wish  for  some- 
thing better,  even  if  in  the  next  world.  At  that  time  children 
were  often  given  brimstone  and  molasses.  The  spring  revival 
seemed  to  answer  the  same  purpose,  as  well  as  being  a  "feeder  " 
to  the  church.  The  query  from  the  pulpit  and  congregation 
was,  "  What  shall  I  do  to  be  saved .? "  Our  old  minister,  the 
Rev.  Jonas  Perkins,  be  it  said  to  his  credit,  never  seemed  to 
like  such  sensational  occasions. 

A  friend  of  mine  has  mistaken  the  late  Mr.  Ezra  Leach,  the 
elder,  for  the  founder  of  the  Baptist  Church.  It  was  the  son 
of  this  man,  who,  after  a  noted  revival  in  the  old  Union  Church, 
thought  that  there  was  not  enough  water  in  the  Congregational 
creed  for  him  to  float  in,  and  seceding,  became  the  father  of  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Weymouth. 

I  well  remember  the  boys  who  were  interested  in  those  re- 
vivals;  they  seemed  to  outsiders  to  be  really  "gooder"  than 
the  other  boys.  They  felt  so,  and  "the  boy  is  father  to  the 
man."     The  revivals  that  I  speak  of  seemed  to  take  the  place 


In  the  "Thirties"  49 

of  the  entertainments  that  are  now  given  in  the  church  parlors, 
either  vesper  services  or  musicales,  as  you  choose  to  call  them. 
Now  this  is  much  more  pleasant  than  the  revivals  of  seventy 
years  ago,  but  I  question  if  the  churches  thrive  as  well  on  this 
diet  as  they  did  on  "  You  will  be  damned  if  you  do,  and  you 
will  be  damned  if  you  don't." 

I  remember  well  a  circumstance  in  the  old  Union  Church 
that  well  shows  this  hard  old  doctrine.  Rev.  Joshua  Emery, 
Jr.,  of  the  Old  North  Church,  was  our  minister  on  a  certain 
Sabbath.  During  the  service  a  horse  got  cast  near  the  church, 
and  a  number  of  the  members  went  out  to  help  the  poor  animal 
up.  Mr.  Emery  stopped  in  his  sermon  and  with  much  feeling 
remarked  that  the  horse  had  no  soul  to  save,  and  that  his 
hearers  had  rather  help  the  poor  beast  than  listen  to  his  ser- 
mon.    This  incident  my  father  often  mentioned. 

The  creed  of  the  Union  Church  was  easy,  and  sometimes  it 
was  adjusted  to  suit  the  occasion,  or  left  altogether.  Asking 
my  father  one  day  how  he  could  subscribe  to  it,  he  said,  "  I 
didn't ;  they  wanted  me  so  much  the  creed  was  not  men- 
tioned." My  father  was  wanted  in  the  church  choir,  and  to  his 
credit  be  it  said,  when  some  of  the  old  Watts  hymns  were  given 
out  by  the  preacher,  he  as  leader  of  the  choir,  refused  to  sing 
such  words  as : 

"  My  thoughts  on  awful  subjects  roll, 
Damnation  and  the  dead  ; 
What  horrors  seize  the  guilty  soul 
Upon  a  dying  bed." 

The  old  church  was  full  of  memories.  No.  7  was  the  pew 
of  my  father,  and  as  a  little  boy  I  remember  Mr.  John  C. 
Rhines  occupied  a  seat  there.  Under  the  gallery  was  the  pew 
of  Colonel  Minot  Thayer.  With  him  sat  his  sister  Rachel,  and 
close  by  sat  Mr.  John  C.  Somes,  and  an  old  gentleman  wearing 
a  silk  skull-cap.     The  boys  were  allowed  to  sit  in  the  singing 


50  Reminiscences. 

seats.  On  the  left,  in  the  gallery,  was  the  pew  occupied  by  all 
the  "  non  compos  "  from  the  Poor  farm. 

Afterwards  the  old  pews  were  removed,  despoiling  the 
church,  and  my  father  was  allotted  a  new  number ;  the  church 
organ  was  removed  to  the  opposite  end,  and  its  beauty  spoiled 
by  being  designed  to  look  like  a  bishop's  mitre. 

A  good  old  deacon  said,  "  Feed  your  pastor  well,  and  make 
your  path  easy  to  Heaven."  Then  the  members  of  the  church 
gave  the  "  Donation  Party."  With  pie  in  hand  they  took  pos- 
session of  the  parsonage,  and  with  table  set,  all  gathered 
around  and  had  a  good  time  feasting,  leaving  at  the  close  of 
the  evening  a  few  crumbs  of  comfort  for  the  poor  minister,  to 
eke  out  his  meagre  salary. 

I  remember  the  old  mill  at  the  "  Iron  Works  "  in  East 
Braintree,  where  I  carried  the  corn  to  be  ground.  Near  by 
was  the  parsonage  where  lived  the  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins,  with  the 
little  school-house  behind  where  Miss  Martha  Perkins  taught  a 
primary  school.  I  went  to  her  school  one  term,  and  played  at 
noon  down  by  the  dam  of  the  old  mill. 

At  that  time  Mr.  Edward  Pray  was  manufacturing  boots  in 
East  Braintree.  His  father  lived  on  the  corner  of  Mill  Lane 
and  Commercial  street.  Just  opposite  was  the  old  mansion 
built  by  my  great-grandfather  Major  Edmund  Soper,  some  one 
hundred  and  thirty  years  ago  (about  1770).  In  his  time  he  was 
a  man  of  note,  and  was  engaged  in  a  large  business  in  building 
vessels  on  the  Monatiquot.  His  grandson,  Henry  Holbrook, 
occupied  the  house  for  many  years.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Albert 
Stetson,  now  occupies  the  fine  old  mansion.  In  the  old  house 
above,  Peleg  Jordan  lived.  He  was  a  ship  carpenter,  and  his 
daughter  still  lives  there. 

Opposite  was  the  Colonel  Anderson  house,  in  the  •'  thirties  " 
occupied  by  Mr.  Caleb  Stetson.  His  wife  was  Susannah  Hunt, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt,  and  my  aunt.  Their  son, 
Amos  W.  Stetson,  who  died  while  on  a  visit  to  Switzerland 


In  the  '' Thirties y  5 1 

in  the  summer  of  1904,  was  my  schoolmate  in  Mr.  Foster's 
school. 

The  Elihu  White  family,  consisting  of  eight  unmarried 
brothers  and  sisters,  lived  below  on  the  street.  One  son,  Mr. 
Naaman  White,  was  for  many  years  a  lawyer  in  Washington 
Square.  Major  Stetson's  old  brick  store  was  a  landmark  in 
the  village.  How  well  I  can  see  the  major  as  an  old  gentle- 
man, always  with  a  "  short  six  "  cigar  in  his  mouth.  He  was 
one  of  the  few  well-to-do  men  of  that  time,  and  many  shoe 
manufacturers  drew  orders  on  his  store  for  the  goods  they 
wanted.  Mr.  Stetson's  daughter,  Mrs.  Rhoda  Hill,  died  in 
March,  1906. 

Adoniram  Bowditch,  my  old  companion  in  the  Weymouth 
Band,  was  Major  Stetson's  right-hand  man.  Many  a  night  I 
waited  outside  the  store  till  the  old  gentleman  left,  as  I  was  a 
little  afraid  of  him,  and  then  went  in  and  stayed  till  Adoniram 
closed  the  store,  so  that  we  could  go  home  together. 

By  the  "  Smelt  Brook "  was  the  workshop  of  Mr.  Caleb 
Hunt,  the  wheelwright.  His  lathe  was  turned  by  an  old  water 
wheel,  and  the  water  came  from  a  little  pond  back  of  Mr.  Ezra 
Leach's  shop,  through  a  pen-stock  leading  to  Mr.  Hunt's  shop. 
With  this  water  power  the  wheelwright  turned  hubs  for  wheels, 
and  posts  for  front-yard  fences. 

Back  a  little  way  in  the  field  near  the  line  between  Braintree 
and  Weymouth,  stands  the  old  school-house,  which  was  brought 
from  Front  street  in  Weymouth  by  Mr.  Eliot  White  about 
1834,  and  changed  into  a  dwelling  house.  This  school-house 
stood  close  to  the  street  in  the  old  Fourth  District  yard,  now 
owned  by  Mr.  Augustus  T.  Gushing.  As  I  went  to  school 
but  one  year  (in  183 1)  in  that  building,  I  can  just  remember 
its  rough  wainscoting  of  boards  full  of  knot-holes  through 
which  the  "  school-marm "  used  to  drop  the  boys'  knives. 
When  the  school-house  was  removed,  there  was  great  hustling 
among  the  boys  to  get  all  those  jack-knives ;  but  none  were 


$2  Reminiscences. 

found,  to  their  great  disappointment :  the  mystery  was,  Where 
had  the  knives  gone  to,  that  the  teacher,  Miss  Bowers,  had  put 
through  the  holes  ? 

Mr.  Micah  Richmond  Hved  opposite  the  house  made  from 
the  old  school-house.  Of  the  Richmond  family  I  remember 
but  little,  other  than  of  their  nephew,  Bizah  Keith,  who  went 
to  school  with  me  in  the  little  school-house.  Richmond  and 
Keith  streets  in  our  village  are  named  from  this  family,  as  at 
that  time  they  owned  the  land  where  these  streets  are. 

Next  was  the  Derby  house,  lately  occupied  by  the  late 
Joseph  I.  Bates.  At  the  fork  of  the  road  beyond  was  the 
little  office  of  Lawyer  Breck,  and  the  old  Thayer  house.  Just 
beyond,  where  the  railroad  crosses  Quincy  avenue,  stood  the 
house  lately  occupied  by  Mr.  Alden  Bowditch.  This  house 
was  moved  there  with  the  old  Union  Church  from  Boston,  and 
was  the  parsonage.  Opposite  where  the  old  Union  Church 
stood  was  the  house  built  by  Gideon  Thayer,  Esq.,  a  lawyer 
of  note  in  his  day,  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Granville  Bowditch. 
Mr.  Thayer  was  a  cousin  of  Colonel  Minot  Thayer,  and  the 
house  in  the  "thirties"  was  occupied  by  the  families  of  Mr. 
Cole  and  Dr.  Jacob  Richards.  Well  do  I  remember  the  Doctor, 
and  the  old  kitchen  where,  to  have  a  tooth  pulled,  I  sat  on 
the  floor  with  my  head  between  the  Doctor's  knees  while  he 
wrenched  the  tooth  out.  Such  times  are  never  forgotten. 
Dr.  Richards  was  the  father  of  Mr.  Augustus  J.  Richards. 
Mr.  Cole  was  interested  in  the  steam  mill  on  the  wharf. 

Standing  near  the  church  was  the  dwelHng  of  Mr.  A.  War- 
ren Stetson,  son  of  Major  Amos  Stetson.  I  remember  Mr. 
Stetson  as  a  shoe  manufacturer  and  a  Jacksonian  Democrat. 
His  old  shop  is  still  standing  where  Lincoln  Newton  worked, 
and  voted  as  did  Mr.  Stetson. 

Near  the  Fore  river  stood  the  toll-house  where  the  singers 
met,  as  already  related.  Here  the  toll-keeper  lived,  had  his 
house  rent  free,  was  paid  a  small  salary  and  opened  the  gates 


In  the  "  Thirties''  53 

so  that  one  could  pass  through  upon  paying  fourpence,  or  six 
and  a  quarter  cents.  He  also  hoisted  the  draw  for  the  craft 
that  went  up  and  down  the  river. 

Over  the  river  towards  Quincy  was  the  Colonel  Minot  Thayer 
farm  with  its  old  colonial  house.  I  remember  the  cherry  trees 
in  front  of  the  house  ;  the  gardens  sloping  to  the  river,  with  the 
only  strawberry  beds  about ;  the  island  below,  with  its  mongrel 
geese ;  the  great  barn  containing  a  fine  herd  of  cows  and  an 
ugly  bull ;  the  fields  below  along  the  river,  where  grew  the 
shagbark  nuts  that  the  boys  loved  so  well ;  the  duck  pond  by 
the  spring,  the  great  flocks  of  pigeons  of  many  fancy  kinds, 
always  flying  around,  and  a  large  room  in  the  old  garret  full  of 
canary  birds,  of  which  the  colonel  was  a  great  fancier,  —  all  of 
which  I  seem  to  see  as  of  yesterday.  It  was  an  ideal  place  for 
a  boy.  The  old  colonel,  a  bachelor,  loved  boys  and  usually  had 
one  or  two  around  for  company.  With  Colonel  Thayer  lived  his 
maiden  sister  Rachel,  and  his  ward  John  Somes.  He  loved 
company,  was  a  great  entertainer,  and  as  a  radical  Whig  had 
many  political  acquaintances. 

In  those  times  the  Turnpike  (now  Washington  street  and 
Quincy  Avenue),  was  the  road  over  which  Daniel  Webster 
traveled  on  his  way  from  Boston  to  Marshfield.  Mr.  Webster 
often  stopped  to  see  the  colonel  when  going  by.  At  his  din- 
ner parties  the  colonel  had  many  guests,  and  as  he  was  a  bach- 
elor, my  mother,  who  was  his  niece,  always  took  the  head  of 
the  table.  It  was  the  colonel's  pride  that  nearly  all  on  the 
table  was  grown  on  his  own  farm. 

He  was  a  Representative  to  the  General  Court  for  thirty 
years,  and  like  his  relative,  the  late  F.  A.  Hobart,  was  modera- 
tor of  the  Braintree  town  meetings  for  years.  Here  he  ruled 
supreme,  and  when  he  said  "  Please  nominate,"  he  always  heard 
the  name  of  the  man  he  wanted.  I  mention  the  old  colonel 
and  his  farm  at  length  as  there  was  nothing  about  like  him  for 
his  free  and  generous  hospitality. 


54  Reminiscences. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  Colonel  Thayer's  there 
has  been  a  great  change  since  1 840.  At  that  time  there  were 
no  coal  sheds  to  mar  the  prospect,  but  the  wharves  were  piled 
with  lumber.  As  there  was  then  no  railroad  through  Wey- 
mouth the  lumber  was  carried  on  teams  a  long  distance  inland, 
and  a  small  business  made  a  great  show.  At  that  time  I  was 
a  great  lover  of  the  river,  and  it  was  a  great  treat  to  get  the 
little  green  boat  —  the  only  one  on  the  river  —  and  sail  as  far 
as  Quincy  bridge. 

The  business  done  in  the  village  in  1840,  or  thereabouts, 
was  small  as  compared  with  the  business  of  today.  Then  the 
manufacturers  were  all  boot-makers.  I  have  no  recollection 
of  any  shoes  being  made.  All  made  hand-sewed  boots.  An 
old  ledger  of  one  of  the  largest  manufacturers  of  that  time 
shows  that  his  business  amounted  to  some  ;^6,ooo  per  year. 
There  seems  to  have  been  no  cash  trade,  but  the  business  was 
done  on  six  and  eight  months'  credit.  From  Deacon  Eben 
Hunt's  death  at  this  time  and  my  father's  settling  his  estate, 
many  bills  and  accounts  came  into  his  hands,  and  these  were 
fortunately  saved,  giving  me  very  good  data  on  this  subject. 

In  looking  over  the  old  accounts  it  seems  as  though  all  the 
shoemakers  in  the  village  worked  for  my  father,  and  still  his 
business  was  a  small  affair  as  compared  with  to-day.  There 
were  others  who  made  a  few  shoes,  all  together  amounting  to 
little. 

In  the  Square  were  Tufts  &  Whittemore  where  the  library 
now  stands ;  Asa  Webb,  from  the  old  bills,  I  judge  did  quite  a 
large  business ;  across  the  Braintree  line  was  Major  Stetson's 
store ;  Mr.  Ezra  Leach  seems  at  this  time  to  be  the  busiest 
man  of  the  place,  doing  the  currying  business ;  Mr.  Elijah 
Pierce  was  making  harnesses ;  Porter  &  Webb  (Whitcomb 
Porter,  Christopher  Webb)  were  doing  the  lumber  business  at 
the  wharves ;  Mr.  Ira  Curtis  was  building  houses ;  Atherton 
W.  Tilden  was   building  vessels  ;    Peter    Lane  was    bringing 


In  the  "  Thirties^  55 

flour  and  grain  from  New  York  in  his  packet  schooner.*  The 
sloop  "  Volante "  was  the  packet  running  to  Boston,  Balch 
Cowing,  master. 

From  the  many  accounts  I  find  in  the  name  of  the  Wey- 
mouth Packet  Company,  they  must  have  brought  to  town  most 
of  the  goods  bought  in  Boston  by  our  people,  and  many  were 
passengers  on  the  old  sloop.  Asa  B.  Wales  was  keeping  the 
hotel ;  Fisher  A.  Kingsbury  the  lawyer.  I  find  all  the  above 
names  in  the  old  papers  left  by  my  father,  showing  about  the 
business  done  at  this  time  in  the  village. 

The  Bank  that  has  just  closed  was  not  for  our  village  only, 
but  for  all  the  neighboring  towns,  —  easily  seen  from  the  fact 
that  the  first  president  was  Josiah  Vinton,  living  in  Braintree ; 
the  second  was  Benjamin  King  of  Abington,  1833-57;  then 
Minot  Tirrell  of  South  Weymouth,  till  1876;  Albert  Hum- 
phrey, till  1893,  he  of  East  Weymouth;  Henry  A.  Nash,  till 
1896,  also  of  East  Weymouth,  then  George  H.  Bicknell,  till 
1898;  finally  Augustus  J.  Richards,  the  last  two  from  the 
Landing.  By  this,  one  can  see  the  Bank  was  not  for  the 
Landing  only,  but  for  the  neighboring  towns.  The  directors 
lived  in  Braintree,  Randolph,  Abington  and  South  Weymouth 
as  well  as  the  Landing.  It  was  the  only  Bank  for  all  these 
towns.  I  question  if  the  Bank  was  any  help  to  the  village. 
In  the  "thirties,"  I  knew  little  of  it  other  than  that  Thomas 
R.  Hanson  was  the  cashier,  a  correct  man,  but  not  a  pleasant 
man  to  meet  in  the  Bank,  so  tradition  says. 

George  Bartlett,  the  next  after  Hanson,  was  the  son  of  the 
cashier  of  the  Quincy  Bank  ;  after  him  came  John  W.  Loud. 
Now  Mr.  Loud  was  of  a  character  that  I  admire,  and  the  like 
I  would  wish  to  see  in  our  village  to-day,  but  he  was  not  a 
pleasant  man  to  meet  in  his  oflftce  ;  he  was  not  the  man  to  help 
the  new  beginner,  the  man  who  wanted  help. 

*  The  name  of  Peter  Lane  does  not  appear  in  the  old  papers,  but  I  am  told 
he  was  in  the  Landing  in  these  early  days. 


56  Reminiscences. 

While  Mr.  Loud  was  cashier,  the  Bank  so  I  am  told,  helped 
people  living  out  of  town  more  than  those  within.  I  remem- 
ber in  the  "fifties,"  when  the  shoe  business  was  at  its  best, 
our  shoe  manufacturers  did  not  get  their  discounts  at  the 
Weymouth  Bank,  but  went  to  Hingham  to  Mr.  Leavitt,  or  to 
Quincy  to  Mr.  Bartlett.  There  was  no  accommodation  at  our 
Union  Bank,  and  it  was  a  time  so  unlike  to-day,  when  business 
men  give  a  discount  for  cash  and  the  trade  pay  cash ;  but  in 
the  *'  fifties  "  everything  was  bought  and  sold  on  six  months' 
time,  and  a  bank  of  discount  was  the  one  thing  needful  for  the 
man  doing  business. 

Our  only  manufacturer  Mr.  Tilden,  to-day  no  doubt  does 
more  shoe  business  than  all  that  were  engaged  in  it  in  the 
"thirties."  There  is  more  lumber  business  done  to-day  than 
in  those  years  ago  on  our  wharves,  and  so  on.  In  fact  it  was 
a  poor  time ;  our  people  got  a  living,  —  they  existed,  —  but 
mostly  by  farming  the  land  that  almost  everyone  had  at  this 
time. 

Robbins'  mill  was  grinding  the  corn  grown  about  the  village, 
and  in  the  fall  the  bins  were  full  of  the  potatoes  raised.  The 
great  shoat,  when  killed  at  Thanksgiving  time,  filled  the  pork 
tub.  I  remember  the  great  droves  of  pigs  driven  through 
our  streets,  their  owners  stopping  now  and  then  to  sell ;  they 
went  along  rooting  up  the  sides  of  the  street,  and  the  yards 
of  the  houses  ;  no  one  cared. 

Among  some  old  pamphlets  relating  to  the  town,  bought 
at  auction  by  my  son,  I  found  a  catalogue  of  the  "  Social 
Library."  Some  time  afterwards  a  friend  gave  me  two  curious 
old  books.  On  examination  I  found  they  were  books  of  this 
same  library,  for  on  the  first  blank  page  was  this :  "  The  Prop- 
erty of  the  Proprietors  of  the  Social  Library  in  Weymouth ;  to 
be  returned  in  six  weeks."  The  title  of  one  was,  "Submission 
to  the  Righteousness  of  God,"  published  in  1764 ;  of  the  other, 
"P'riendship  in  Death,"  published  in  1792.     The  books  were 


In  the  "  Thirties  y  57 

once  the  property  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Jr.  He  died  Jan. 
27,  1823,  and  was  no  doubt  a  member  of  this  corporation. 

In  the  "thirties  "  there  was  a  small  circulating  library  kept 
in  the  Tufts  &  Whittemore  store,  which  occupied  the  present 
site  of  the  Tufts  Library,  in  Washington  Square.  It  was 
supported  by  popular  subscription,  and  all  the  leading  people 
patronized  it.  Once  in  a  while,  in  recent  years,  I  have  come 
across  one  of  those  old  books. 

It  was  from  this  library  that  I  obtained  and  first  read 
Scott's  "  Ivanhoe  "  and  "  Old  Mortality."  Few  readers  would 
admit  that  they  had  not  read  "Waverley,"  with  its  heroine 
Flora  Mclvor,  and  "  Ivanhoe,"  with  Rebecca  the  Jewess. 

'Tis  of  his  novels  I  will  tell,  for  many  years  ago  I  read 
nearly  all.  As  I  have  scanned  them  over  this  last  week  I 
find  that  those  I  liked  best  as  a  boy  are  not  the  ones  I  like 
best  to-day.  Waverley,  the  first  in  the  series,  tells  of  the  young 
Pretender,  Charles  Edward  Stuart,  "  Prince  Charlie "  as  he 
was  called  ;  of  his  landing  in  Scotland  ;  of  his  victory  at  Pres- 
ton Pans;  of  his  defeat  on  the  field  of  Culloden  in  1746, 
and  of  his  escape  and  adventures,  the  heroine  being  Flora 
Mclvor.  In  my  old  school  Reader  was  a  chapter  from  this 
romance. 

Guy  Mannering,  the  astrologer,  became  interesting  from 
the  old  witch  Meg  Merrilies,  the  character  so  associated  with 
Charlotte  Cushman,  the  famous  actress ;  the  Antiquary,  Mr. 
Oldbuck ;  the  mendicant,  Edie  Ochiltree ;  Rob  Roy  and 
McGregor. 

My  favorite  years  ago,  and  just  as  good  now,  was  "  Old 
MortaUty."  Robert  Patterson,  alias  "  Old  Mortality,"  was 
born  in  171 5.  For  upwards  of  forty  years  he  visited  the 
graves  of  the  old  Cameronians  who  fell  in  defence  of  their 
religion  ;  cleaning,  repairing  and  erecting  grave-stones  without 
fee  or  reward.  The  old  man  would  find  much  to  do  in  our 
cemeteries  to-day. 


58  Reminiscences. 

John  Graham  of  Claverhouse,  "  The  Bonnie  Dundee,"  was 
my  favorite  hero,  though  he  harried  the  Covenanters  fearfully. 
He  was  killed  in  the  moment  of  victory  at  the  battle  of  Killi- 

crankie. 

"  Sound  the  fife  and  cry  the  slogan ; 

Let  the  pibroch  shake  the  air 
With  its  wild  triumphal  music, 

Worthy  of  the  freight  we  bear." 

Balfour  of  Burley  was  another  of  my  heroes;  he  led  the 
Covenanters  at  Both  well  Bridge,  and  fought  to  his  death. 
Conning  over  these  old  novels  seems  like  visiting  the  scenes  of 
my  boyhood,  for  I  immediately  turn  to  the  stories  of  the 
battles.  Scott  has  little  to  do  with  "  love's  young  dream  ; "  his 
heroines  are  rarely  beautiful,  except  Flora  Mclvor.  The  fight- 
ing was  the  most  interesting  to  me  as  a  boy. 

In  my  reading,  when  I  got  to  "  The  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian," 
as  with  most  of  the  other  books,  I  was  going  to  scan  it  over, 
but  as  I  began  I  could  not  leave  the  book  until  I  had  read  it 
through ;  two  volumes  took  me  two  long  evenings.  It  is  a 
wonderfully  fascinating  story,  not  of  kings  and  queens,  lords 
and  nobles,  but  of  the  common  people  of  old  Edinburgh,  and 
of  Scotland.  There  is  no  hero  in  this  story,  but  Jeanie  Deans, 
a  simple  freckle-faced  Scotch  girl,  is  the  heroine.  As  the  story 
runs,  she  had  a  beautiful  sister,  Effie  Deans,  whose  baby  with- 
out the  banns  caused  much  trouble.  The  child  disappeared, 
and  it  was  supposed  it  had  been  murdered  by  its  mother,  but 
no  proof  could  be  found.  Notwithstanding,  Effie  Deans  was 
convicted  and  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  Now  the  Tolbooth  or 
prison  of  Edinburgh  was  called  the  "  Heart  of  Mid-Lothian." 

After  her  sister  was  condemned,  Jeanie  Deans,  knowing 
that  no  one  could  save  her  but  the  King,  borrowed  money 
and  began  the  long  and  tiresome  journey  to  London.  Many 
adventures  did  she  have,  but  finally  arrived  at  the  end  of  her 
journey,  where  she  found  a    Mrs.  Glass,  who  sold  a  famous 


In  the  "  Thirties y  59 

kind  of  snuff.  Jeanie  had  two  lovers,  one  an  old  man  but 
rich,  who  loaned  the  money  with  which  she  made  her  way 
to  London ;  the  other,  Reuben  Butler,  a  young  minister  of 
the  Church  of  England,  but  poor  and  waiting  for  a  parish. 
She  called  upon  one  of  her  countrymen  in  London,  and  then 
went  to  see  the  Duke  of  Argyle,  who  seemed  to  be  "  the 
power  behind  the  throne."  Reuben  Butler's  people  were  well 
known  to  the  Duke,  and  through  this  influence  Jeanie  was 
brought  into  the  presence  of  Queen  Caroline,  who  asked  her 
how  she  travelled  from  Scotland.  "Upon  my  foot  mostly," 
replied  Jeanie.  "  What,  all  that  immense  way  upon  foot } 
How  far  can  you  walk  in  a  day ,?  "  "  Five  and  twenty  miles 
and  a  bittock."  "A  what } "  said  the  Queen  to  the  Duke  of 
Argyle.  "  And  five  miles  more."  "  I  thought  I  was  a  good 
walker,"  said  the  Queen,  "  but  this  shames  me  sadly."  "  May 
your  leddyship  never  hae  sae  weary  a  heart  that  ye  canna  be 
sensible  of  the  weariness  of  the  limbs,"  said  Jeanie. 

Pleading  with  the  Queen  for  the  life  of  her  young  sister, 
she  says  :  "  Alas  !  it  is  not  when  we  sleep  soft  and  wake  mer- 
rily ourselves,  that  we  think  on  other  people's  sufferings ;  our 
hearts  are  waxed  light  within  us  then,  and  we  are  for  righting 
our  ain  wrangs  and  fighting  our  ain  battles.  But  when  the 
hour  of  trouble  comes  to  the  mind  or  to  the  body  —  and  sel- 
dom may  it  visit  your  leddyship  —  and  when  the  hour  of  death 
comes  to  the  high  and  low  —  lang  and  late  may  it  be  yours  — 
O,  my  leddy,  then  it  is  nae  what  we  hae  dune  for  oursells,  but 
what  we  hae  dune  for  others,  that  we  think  on  most  pleasantly. 
And  the  thoughts  that  ye  hae  intervened  to  spare  the  poor 
thing's  life  will  be  sweeter  in  that  hour,  come  when  it  may, 
than  if  a  word  of  your  mouth  could  hang  the  haill  Porteous 
mob  at  the  *  tail  of  a  tow.' " 

The  Queen  was  won,  and,  of  course,  the  King  granted  the 
pardon.  In  the  end,  Butler,  through  the  Duke  of  Argyle, 
secured  a  rich  living  and  married  Jeanie  Deans. 


66  Reminiscences. 

Cooper,  the  rival  of  Scott,  had  written  many  of  his  novels, 
among  them  his  "  Leatherstocking  Tales,"  with  their  hero 
Natty  Bumpo,  "The  Spy,"  with  Harvey  Birch  the  peddler, 
and  "The  Pilot,"  with  Tom  Coffin  of  the  "Ariel."  In  sea 
stories  Cooper  had  no  rival,  but  many  disciples. 

Washington  Irving  had  written  his  "  Sketch  Book,"  purport- 
ing to  be  by  "Geoffrey  Crayon,  Gentleman,"  with  its  humorous 
"Rip  Van  Winkle,"  and  its  pathetic  "  Philip  of  Pokanoket." 

I  read  Mrs.  Jane  Porter's  "Thaddeus  of  Warsaw,"  and  "The 
Scottish  Chiefs,"  and  Jane  Austen's  "  Pride  and  Prejudice," 
and  "Persuasion."  In  1835  Hawthorne  was  writing  for  the 
American  Magazine,  and  his  great  novels  were  yet  to  come. 
In  1837  Prescott  had  written  his  first  book,  "Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,"  and  was  then  writing  "The  Conquest  of  Mexico." 
Hawthorne's  "  Twice-Told  Tales  "  appeared  the  same  year. 
How  eagerly  we  watched  for  them  as  they  came  out !  The 
poets  were  Poe,  Bryant,  Whittier  and  Longfellow,  and  what 
have  we  better  to-day  1 

Of  newspapers  I  remember  "The  Statesman,"  and  "The 
Olive  Branch,"  which  were  greeted  with  pleasure  in  our  home. 
I  think  "The  Olive  Branch"  was  the  first  paper  to  publish 
a  serial  story  —  "The  Wrecker's  Daughter."  This  was  the 
one  family  paper  of  the  village,  and  a  great  favorite.  "The 
Liberator"  was  stirring  up  the  people  over  slavery,  from 
North  to  South.  The  other  Boston  papers  were  the  Traveller, 
the  Courier,  the  Atlas,  the  Advertiser,  the  Investigator,  the 
Transcript,  the  Saturday  Evening  Gazette,  the  Chronicle,  the 
Post,  and  the  New  England  Farmer. 

Only  one  magazine  can  I  remember,  "  Graham's,"  begun  in 
the  "thirties,"  a  fine  magazine,  full  of  illustrations.  "Har- 
per's" came  into  the  field  in  1850.  The  first  illustrated 
weekly  paper  was  "Gleason's  Pictorial,"  published  in  Boston. 
It  seems  to  me  more  reading  was  done  at  that  time  than  to- 
day ;  there  was  little  else  to  do.     In  Boston  was  the  Museum, 


In  the  "  Thirties y  6lj 

for  the  good  Orthodox  ;  a  few  wax  figures  made  it  a  museum, 
taking  the  curse  off  of  the  good  work  Warren  was  then  doing  ; 
two  theatres  for  the  wicked  To-day  no  Museum,  but  eighteen 
theatres  ;  how  hath  the  wicked  prospered  !  Then,  at  this  time 
to  get  to  Boston  cost  money,  for  to  go  to  the  theatre  required 
a  horse  and  carriage ;  no  railroad,  no  electric  cars  to  take  you 
from  your  door.  Those  who  went  enjoyed  it  the  more  for  the 
few  opportunities  they  had.  To  the  Museum  I  often  went  to 
hear  Warren,  the  most  loved  actor  Boston  ever  had ;  in  fact 
he  belonged  to  Boston.  How  well  I  remember  him  in  "  The 
Forty  Thieves."  How  well  I  can  see  the  forty  great  jars,  each 
holding  a  thief,  but  one  filled  with  oil ;  Morgiana  peeking  into 
them,  boiling  the  oil,  pouring  it  onto  the  thieves,  the  groan 
each  gave  ;  Warren  on  his  cobbler's  bench  ;  all  this  seems  but 
yesterday.  Thinking  of  this  has  made  me  forget  the  books 
that  I  proposed  to  speak  of,  so  now  I  will  begin. 

At  the  end  of  the  long  kitchen  in  my  father's  house  stood 
the  secretary  containing  the  books,  all  we  possessed  —  as  many 
as  our  neighbors,  other  than  the  professional  doctors,  ministers, 
etc.,  whose  books  were  tools  in  trade  as  were  the  hammer  and 
lapstone  of  the  shoemaker.  First  among  these  books  was  an 
old  Biographical  Dictionary  that  I  used  to  hunt  through,  to 
find  the  heroes  of  the  stories  I  read,  to  learn  if  real  or  not. 
Then  there  was  the  "American  Monthly  Magazine,"  already 
mentioned,  most  interesting  to  me  from  the  story  of  the  mass- 
acre by  the  Indians  in  Haverhill,  and  the  flight  of  the  Dustin 
family.  This  story  was  wonderfully  interesting  reading  for  a 
boy,  and  the  old  magazine  now  before  me  is  well  worn  at  this 
chapter. 

One  more  book  I  will  mention  in  the  old  book-case,  "  Fox's 
Book  of  Martyrs,"  by  John  Fox,  born  in  Boston,  Lincolnshire, 
15 17,  died  in  London,  1587.  He  was  a  tutor  in  the  family  of 
Sir  Thomas  Lucy,  immortalized  by  the  story  of  Shakespere's 
robbing  his  deer  park.     He   was   the  author  of  numerous 


62  Reminiscences. 

works;  all  are  forgotten  save  his  Book  of  Martyrs,  which 
first  appeared  in  London,  1553,  and  despite  its  inaccuracies 
and  defects,  still  maintains  its  place  as  a  popular  work.  It 
tells  of  the  sufferings  of  the  early  Protestant  reformers  from 
the  persecutions  of  the  Romish  prelates  in  the  realms  of  Eng- 
land and  Scotland.  This  book  was  well  illustrated  with  prints, 
showing  the  burnings  at  the  stake,  and  broilings  on  gridirons, 
all  so  interesting  to  the  small  boy.  So  the  Book  of  Martyrs 
was  in  all  good  Protestant  families  in  the  years  gone  by,  keep- 
ing company  with  the  Bible,  to-day  in  every  house. 

There  is  no  book  so  interesting  as  the  old  family  Bible,  with 
its  records  of  births  and  deaths,  going  back  into  the  past.  It 
is  my  good  fortune,  from  my  bearing  the  family  name  on  my 
mother's  side,  that  I  have  the  old  family  Bible,  with  its  long 
record  of  births  and  deaths  written  some  one  hundred  years 
ago,  —  not  wholly  interesting  from  this  record  but  from  the 
wrangling  there  has  been  over  the  old  book.  Parkerites  and 
Blagdenites  (Theodore  Parker  and  Dr.  Blagden  of  the  Old 
South  Church,  Boston)  were  my  mother's  family,  and  when 
they  got  together  the  old  Bible  leaves  were  turned  and  turned, 
until  each  could  prove  their  views  were  right. 

Few  understand  the  value  of  a  scrap-book — a  book  with  blank 
pages  on  which  you  can  paste  everything  of  interest  that  you 
read  in  the  newspapers,  and  all  the  happenings  about.  Such 
a  book  will  grow  in  value  as  it  grows  in  years,  and  will  be  at 
hand  to  refer  to  in  the  years  to  come. 

One  does  not  know  until  he  tries  it,  the  difficulty  of  study- 
ing up  the  past.  I  have  found  an  old  man's  memory  is  the 
most  uncertain  about  the  happenings  of  his  youth.  There  is 
nothing  so  good  to  rely  upon  as  the  records  in  black  and  white. 
Evelyn's  and  Pepys's  Diaries  are  the  most  valuable  books  we 
have,  telling  the  ways  of  the  people  in  the  times  of  which  they 
wrote, —  James  I  and  James  II,  and  Charles  I  and  Charles  II. 
To  people  who  write  of  those  times,  these  Diaries  are  books  of 


In  the  "  Thirties."  63 

reference.  If  every  boy  and  girl  in  our  High  school  were 
required  to  keep  a  diary  of  passing  events,  and  have  it  read 
once  a  week,  we  should  have  history  ready-made  in  the  years 
to  come. 

In  my  library  I  have  the  histories  of  most  of  our  neighbor- 
ing towns,  which  tell  more  or  less  about  Weymouth.  These 
are  the  "History  of  Plymouth,"  by  James  Thatcher,  1832; 
"  History  of  Plymouth,"  by  Francis  Baylies,  two  volumes,  8vo, 
1866;  "History  of  Bridgewater,"  by  Nathan  Mitchell,  1840; 
"History  of  Hingham,"  by  Solomon  Lincoln,  1827;  "History 
of  the  Town  of  Hingham,"  in  four  volumes,  8vo,  compiled  by 
prominent  citizens  of  the  town,  1893  (one  of  the  best  and 
most  thorough  town  histories  ever  written) ;  "  History  of 
Scituate,"  by  Samuel  Deane,  1831;  "History  of  Duxbury," 
by  Justin  Winsor,  1849;  "History  of  Braintree "  (Braintree 
Records,  1 640-1 793),  by  Samuel  A.  Bates;  and  last,  and  most 
interesting  to  our  Weymouth  folks,  "The  Vinton  Memorial," 
by  John  Adams  Vinton,  1858. 

These  are  the  books  that  the  future  historian  of  Weymouth 
must  study,  and  especially  "The  Vinton  Memorial,"  for  these 
books  tell  of  families  long  gone  out,  as  are  the  White  and  Tufts 
families. 

In  my  possession  I  have  an  old  map  of  the  town,  dated 
1830.  This  has  all  the  roads  of  that  time,  and  the  houses 
along  the  ways  are  marked  with  the  names  of  those  then 
occupying  the  same.  The  names  are  all  familiar,  and  many  of 
the  boys  went  to  school  with  me.  The  old  houses  are  now 
occupied  by  strangers,  who  know  no  more  about  the  history 
of  Weymouth  than  did  the  Indians  of  the  history  of  the 
country.  As  I  study  over  the  map  of  seventy-five  years  ago, 
I  wonder  to  myself,  and  think  how  poor  our  people  were,  the 
two  hundred  years  before.  With  the  exception  of  the  two 
White  houses  at  the  "  Landing,"  and  the  Wilde  house  under 
King-Oak  Hill,  —  historic  old  colonial  houses,  —  all  others  in 


64 


Reminiscences. 


the  town  seem  to  have  been  of  the  low-studded  cottage  type, 
built  on  the  same  plan,  with  two  front  rooms  and  a  long 
kitchen,  the  living-room,  with  a  bed-room  for  the  old  folks  at 
one  end  and  the  buttery  at  the  other.  This  was  the  Wey- 
mouth house  of  seventy-five  years  ago.  What  could  have 
been  the  condition  one  hundred  and  more  years  before  ?  Who 
can  write  up  its  dreary  history .? 


Chapter  II.     In  the  "Forties." 


[  S  I  remember  the  year  1 840,  it  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  many  events  worth  noting.  It  was 
the  time  of  the  great  Whig  campaign,  when  the 
party  met  its  first  triumph  in  the  election  of 
General  William  Henry  Harrison  as  ninth  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States.  Politics  ran  high,  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  campaign  songs  of  "  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too,"  and 

«<  We  will  sing  a  Harrison  song  by  night, 
And  beat  his  foes  by  day." 

The  slur  cast  upon  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe  by  the  Democratic 
party,  that  he  lived  in  a  log  cabin  and  drank  hard  cider,  was 
used  as  a  war-cry  by  the  Whigs.  Log  cabins  were  drawn 
about  the  streets,  transparencies  with  all  kinds  of  devices  were 
carried,  and  lively  political  songs  were  sung  at  every  gathering. 


«'  What  is  this  great  commotion 

'Motion,  'motion,  all  the  country  through ! 
It  is  the  ball  that's  rolling  on 

For  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too. 
And  with  them  will  be  Little  Van, 

Van,  Van.     Oh,  he's  a  used-up  man ! 
Oh,  he's  a  used-up  man ! " 


66  Reminiscences. 

I  well  remember  the  Glee  Club  meeting  at  Mr.  Ezra  Leach's, 
where  these  songs  were  sung.  My  father  was  very  indignant, 
and  soon  afterwards,  the  Club  being  invited  to  Dr.  Stephen 
Thayer's  in  Braintree,  father  had  it  plainly  understood  that  no 
political  songs  should  be  sung,  and  they  were  not.  This  seems 
to  have  been  the  liveliest  poUtical  campaign  of  all  that  we  have 
had,  within  my  recollection.  The  financial  crisis  that  followed 
the  election  of  President  Van  Buren  gave  the  Whigs  their  op- 
portunity. The  cry  of  **  Two  dollars  a  day  and  roast  beef  " 
was  a  great  incentive  to  voters  who  had  had  nothing  for  pay, 
and  little  to  eat  during  the  previous  four  years. 

Harrison's  success  was  complete.  He  received  234  elec- 
toral votes,  while  Van  Buren  got  but  60.  The  President  died 
April  4,  1 84 1,  —  one  month  after  his  inauguration,  —  from 
fatigue  and  excitement,  and  John  Tyler,  the  Vice-President, 
became  President  of  the  United  States,  This  was  a  great 
disappointment  to  the  Whig  party,  as  he  was  a  Democrat,  and 
during  most  of  his  administration  without  a  party  behind  him. 
His  beginning,  however,  was  better  than  his  ending,  for  at  his 
death  he  was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  then  in 
session  at  Richmond.  In  1 842,  when  Bunker  Hill  Monument 
was  completed,  John  Tyler,  then  President,  came  to  the  cele- 
bration, and  I  saw  him  riding  in  a  carriage  with  his  negro 
slave  holding  an  umbrella  over  his  head. 

I  was  in  Mr.  Brown's  school,  under  the  Universalist  Church, 
and  politics  was  with  the  boy  as  with  his  father.  Mr.  Whit- 
comb  Porter  was  a  Whig,  as  were  his  boys,  John  and  George, 
in  school.  Ben.  Thayer  and  myself  were  Democrats,  as  were 
our  fathers.  When  the  Whigs  won,  there  was  great  rejoicing 
by  the  Porter  boys ;  and  when  President  Harrison  died,  they 
wore  crape  on  their  arms. 

In  1 83 1  ex-President  John  Quincy  Adams,  then  our  repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  presented  fifteen  petitions,  signed  by 
the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  praying  for  the  abolition  of  slavery 


In  the  '' Forties y  6y 

and  the  slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  A  little  later 
the  House  of  Representatives  passed  a  "gag"  law,  denying 
the  right  of  petition.  In  1840  Mr.  Adams  was  fighting  for 
that  right,  and  he  was  invited  to  deliver  an  address  in  the  old 
Union  Church  on  "The  Right  of  Petition."  He  was  enter- 
tained by  Col.  Minot  Thayer,  in  his  old  colonial  house  on  what 
is  now  the  estate  of  Thomas  A.  Watson,  but  then  called 
"  Colonel  Minot's  Farm."  The  old  colonel  was  a  sturdy  Whig, 
and,  having  a  large  acquaintance,  entertained  many  old-time 
politicians,  including  the  ex-President  and  Daniel  Webster,  who 
was  a  frequent  caller  on  the  colonel,  and  no  doubt  got  much 
"  spiritual  "  help  on  his  way  over  the  turnpike. 

On  this  particular  occasion  a  procession  was  formed  at  Col, 
Thayer's  house  and  marched  to  the  old  church,  escorted  by 
the  South  Weymouth  Band.  Mr.  Adams  spoke  from  the  old 
high  pulpit.  Beside  him  sat  the  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins  and  Col. 
Minot  Thayer.  The  church  was  crowded,  and  the  band  occu- 
pied the  organ  loft.  It  was  the  first  year  of  the  organ,  and 
Richard  A.  Hunt  performed  on  it.  The  subject  of  the  lecture 
was  held  to  very  well  at  first,  but  as  the  old  gentleman  warmed 
up,  being  in  the  height  of  the  political  campaign,  he  grad- 
ually worked  into  a  good  Whig  speech.  The  Whig  part  of 
his  audience  enjoyed  this  much,  caring  far  more  for  their  party 
politics  than  for  the  right  of  petition.  The  Democrats  felt 
that  a  trap  had  been  set  for  them,  and  they  grew  very  angry. 
As  the  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins  was  very  conservative,  the  old 
church  was  little  used  for  political  lectures  afterwards. 

At  this  time,  John  Hawkins,  a  "reformed  drunkard,"  was  on 
his  crusade  against  rum.  Our  village  poet-laureate,  Mr.  Ad- 
lington,  wrote  many  good  verses  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 
Dr.  Jewett,  a  noted  temperance  lecturer,  Mr.  Edwin  Thompson 
and  others,  gave  lectures  here.  "Cold  water  armies"  were 
formed,  and  everyone  signed  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence. 
One  would  have  supposed  that  rum  was  to  be  driven  from  the 


68  Reminiscemes. 

earth.  At  that  time  my  father  signed  the  pledge  with  the  rest, 
as  he  was  interested  in  the  cause. 

One  night  there  came  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  three  men 
called  to  tell  my  father  that  he  had  broken  the  pledge,  —  at 
least  they  had  heard  so.  They  said,  "  Major  Hunt,  we  under- 
stand you  have  broken  the  pledge."  With  much  surprise,  my 
father  replied,  "  No,  I  have  not."  They  said,  "  We  are  told 
you  drink  gin."  "Of  course  I  do.  I  always  have,  and  have 
to,"  was  the  reply.  And  so  the  major  was  turned  out  of  the 
"  Cold  Water  Army." 

The  temperance  movement  was  like  a  squall  on  the  river ;  it 
ruffled  the  water  for  the  time  being,  and  quickly  passing,  all 
returned  to  the  original  state  as  though  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. 

Every  society  in  those  days  had  its  picnics,  and  so  must  the 
Cold  Water  Army.  Wanting  a  grove  to  meet  in,  they  chose 
the  pasture  just  above  Dr.  Noah  Fifield's ;  and  all  the  people 
of  the  village  turned  out  with  hatchet,  hammer  and  hoe, 
cleared  the  land  of  underbrush,  and  put  up  seats  and  tables. 
This  was  the  first  of  many  picnics,  and  was  most  enjoyable 
from  being  the  first.  I  remember  that  Mr.  F.  M.  Adlington 
gave  a  descriptive  poem  on  the  occasion. 

The  South  Weymouth  Band,  Mr.  James  L.  Bates,  leader, 
headed  the  procession,  which  was  formed  of  all  in  the  village, 
both  young  and  old.  The  marshals  (of  whom  my  father  was 
one),  with  much  pride  carried  batons  tied  with  blue  ribbons, 
formed  the  procession,  marched  about  the  town,  ending  up  at 
the  grove,  where  the  mothers  and  daughters  had  the  tables 
set  with  all  that  was  good,  the  older  folks  waiting  on  the  young 
and  seeing  that  none  were  slighted. 

Rev.  John  M.  Spear,  the  minister  of  the  new  church,  was 
always  interested  in  these  cold-water  picnics,  and  made  re- 
marks suitable  for  the  occasion.  The  band  played,  and  all 
had  a  good  time,  and  the  cause  was  helped  along. 


In  the  ^^  Forties y  69 

The  Abolitionists  were  also  busy.  The  new  Universalist 
Church  was  quite  liberal,  and  opened  its  doors  to  all  who  came. 
It  was  in  this  church  that  we  heard  all  the  notables  of  the  day. 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips,  Parker  Pillsbury, 
Edwin  Thompson,  and  Theodore  Parker,  were  all  in  their 
prime.  Parker  was  no  non-resistant  as  were  the  Abolitionists, 
but  a  fighter,  as  was  his  ancestor  on  Lexington  Common.  His 
first  anti-slavery  speech  was  delivered  in  1841,  and  from  that 
time  till  his  death  in  1 860,  he  gave  himself  no  rest,  interesting 
himself  in  the  fugitive  slave,  his  house  in  Boston  always  being 
open  to  secrete  them. 

He  was  also  fighting  the  Boston  Association  of  Unitarian 
Ministers,  who  at  that  time  were  narrow  and  bigoted.  He 
was  much  in  advance  of  his  fellow  ministers.  They  called  him 
a  heretic  because  he  did  not  believe  in  miracles,  and  for  a  long 
time  none  would  exchange  pulpits  with  him.  Later,  men  of 
the  breadth  of  James  Freeman  Clarke  did.  He  was  a  great 
favorite  in  our  village,  and  a  large  audience  always  greeted  him. 
At  this  time  our  village  was  far  in  advance  of  our  neighbors 
about,  who  were  still  Calvinistic  and  narrow.  True,  it  was  full 
of  "isms,"  but  they  all  led  to  better  things,  and  placed  us  in 
advance  of  the  times.  William  Lloyd  Garrison  was  an  old 
campaigner  in  the  anti-slavery  cause,  having  published  the 
"Liberator"  in  1831,  and  been  mobbed  in  Boston  in  1835. 
He  was  always  welcomed  by  his  many  admirers  in  our  village. 
Wendell  Phillips  was  very  unlike  Parker  and  Garrison.  He 
was  a  born  scold,  and  cut  to  the  quick  every  one  who  was  not 
with  him  in  the  abolition  cause.  As  an  orator  Mr.  Phillips 
ranked  among  the  foremost. 

While  all  that  I  have  told  was  going  on,  the  late  Atherton 
W.  Tilden  was  building  vessels,  —  cruisers  in  fact,  as  they 
cruised  up  and  down  the  Monatiquot  and  along  the  shore  to 
Boston.  In  all,  he  built  fourteen.  Among  the  vessels  that 
he   built,   I    remember   the   barque  "Emily  Wilder."     Ship- 


yo  Reminiscences. 

building  was  the  most  interesting  business  in  the  village. 
There  were  quaint  men  from  the  South  Shore  towns  who 
worked  on  these  vessels.  They  seemed  to  have  the  flavor  of 
the  sea  about  them.  As  I  remember,  they  were  men  of  con- 
sequence, who  attended  church,  drank  New  England  rum,  and, 
in  truth,  verified  Byron's  lines : 

<'  There's  naught,  no  doubt,  so  much  the  spirit  calms 
As  rum  and  true  religion." 

In  the  early  "  forties  "  came  my  old  friend  Amos  S.  White. 
He  occupied  the  store  which  formerly  belonged  to  Tufts  & 
Whittemore,  and  kept  a  general  country  store.  Thomas  Ellis, 
who  came  from  Middleboro,  was  with  him,  first  as  clerk  and 
for  a  short  time  as  a  member  of  the  firm.  Afterwards  Mr. 
White  went  into  the  apothecary  business,  in  the  store  pre- 
viously occupied  by  Dr.  Eli  Thayer,  and  he  remained  there 
many  years.  This  store  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  Weymouth 
Band  before  and  after  rehearsals. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Asa  Webb,  removing  to  Boston,  his  store 
was  used  by  Mr.  Elias  Richards,  who  continued  the  business 
that  had  been  carried  on  by  Mr.  Webb.  Afterwards  the  store 
was  kept  by  Richards  &  Hunt  (Charles  E.),  then  by  Nye  & 
Hunt,  and  finally  by  the  brothers,  Charles  E.  and  Richard  A. 
Hunt,  who  remained  there  until  they  removed  to  Front  street. 
The  Hunts  kept  a  grocery  store  below,  and  manufactured 
boots  and  shoes  above.  At  one  end  of  the  building,  under 
the  stairs,  was  a  room  where  Mr,  Henry  B.  Cowing  did  a  little 
shoe  business.  I  remember  a  man  coming  one  day  with  a 
sewing  machine,  and  of  seeing  Mr.  Cowing  and  the  stranger 
experimenting  with  it.  This  stranger  proved  to  be  Singer, 
the  famous  sewing-machine  inventor  and  manufacturer  in  after 
years.     As  near  as  I  can  remember,  this  was  about  1847. 

Between  this  store  and  Mr.  White's  was  a  small  building 
then  occupied  by  Mr.  Abraham  Ray.     He  kept  a  saloon,  and 


In  the  ^^  Forties y  71 

after  band-meeting  the  members  would  gather  and  have  a  little 
mild  dissipation,  —  a  bottle  of  Bass's  ale  and  some  oysters. 
Mr.  Ray  was  afterwards  in  company  with  Turner  Torrey  in 
the  blacking  business,  and  was  located  in  Lincoln  Square, 
where  the  waiting-room  now  is, 

Mr.  Ezra  Leach  moved  in  the  early  "  forties "  from  his 
house  in  Washington  Square  to  the  cottage  on  Washington 
street,  next  above  the  Academy,  now  the  house  of  Mr,  Wil- 
liam Baker.  At  the  same  time  Mr.  Elias  Richards  removed 
from  his  house  into  the  one  vacated  by  Mr.  Leach,  where 
he  lived  many  years,  and  which  is  now  occupied  by  his 
daughters. 

Here  Mr.  Richards  used  the  upper  rooms  of  the  ell  for  his 
shoe  manufacturing,  but  the  lower  room  was  used  as  a  public 
hall,  and  called  "  Liberty  Hall."  Those  who  met  there  were 
called  "  Come-outers,"  because  most  of  them  had  come  out 
from  the  old  Union  Church  and  taken  up  all  the  "  isms  "  of 
the  day.  Abolitionism  and  Prohibitionism  were  the  subjects 
usually  talked  about.  The  name  did  not  belie  the  hall  ;  every 
one  who  came  along,  out  of  touch  with  the  times,  could  here 
lay  down  his  burdens  before  a  sympathetic  audience.  One  of 
the  most  interesting  speakers  was  Parker  Pillsbury.  He  was 
an  Abolitionist  of  the  most  radical  kind  and  "  called  a  spade  a 
spade "  without  reservation.  He  always  had  a  full  house. 
Edwin  Thompson  was  another  who  came  often.  As  I  remem- 
ber him,  he  was  a  little  man  in  stature,  but  a  great  worker  in 
the  cause  of  temperance.  At  this  time  Frederick  Douglas  had 
just  escaped  from  slavery,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting men  who  came  to  the  old  hall. 

Mr.  Linfield,  the  stage-driver,  refused  to  carry  Douglas  to 
Boston  because  he  was  colored.  My  old  schoolmate,  Thomas 
Tilden,  hitched  up  his  best  horse  in  his  best  chaise,  and  took 
Douglas  to  Boston,  where  he  wished  to  go.  This  shows  the 
prejudice  of  those  times  in  Weymouth. 


72  Reminiscences.    . 

The  prominent  Abolitionists  in  our  village  were  the  family 
of  Elias  Richards,  the  Cowings  and  the  Westons. 

Mr.  Elias  Richards  was  an  earnest  man  in  the  cause  he 
thought  to  be  right.  Always  a  "non-resistant,"  he  did  not 
believe  in  going  to  the  polls  to  vote,  but  in  later  life  he  changed 
his  mind  and  held  a  number  of  town  offices. 

Mrs.  Maria  (Weston)  Chapman  was  a  worker  known  on 
both  sides  of  the  ocean.  Next  to  William  Lloyd  Garrison,  she 
did  more  for  the  abolition  cause  than  any  other  person  in 
Massachusetts.  One  does  not  want  to  get  mistaken  by  mixing 
up  the  Abolitionists  with  the  anti-slavery  people  ;  for  in  1840 
the  anti-slavery  people  came  out  and  formed  a  political  party, 
and  the  two  were  ever  after  antagonistic,  disliking  each  other 
as  much  as  they  did  the  slave-holder  South. 

The  Hunts  to  a  man  were  anti-slavery  people,  and  hard 
workers  in  what  finally  became  the  great  Republican  party  of 
to-day.  The  first  anti-slavery  party  was  called  the  Liberty 
party,  and  their  first  candidate  for  President  in  1840  was 
James  G.  Birney.  In  1844  this  party  was  the  means  of  de- 
feating Henry  Clay  and  giving  the  Presidency  to  James  K. 
Polk. 

No  man  did  more  for  the  anti-slavery  cause,  indirectly,  than 
did  John  Quincy  Adams  in  fighting  for  the  "Right  of  Peti- 
tion." Dr.  Channing,  the  famous  Unitarian  minister  of  Bos- 
ton, was  the  first  to  advocate  that  cause,  in  opposition  to  Rev. 
Nehemiah  Adams,  of  the  Essex  street  Congregational  Church, 
who  was  considered  a  pro-slavery  man. 

In  1844  the  work  of  the  Abolitionists  was  completed,  the 
Anti-slavery  party  taking  up  the  work  and  carrying  it  on  un- 
der the  name  of  the  Liberal  party,  which  later  became  the 
P"ree  Soil  party. 

Up  to  this  time  Mr.  Garrison  had  done  a  great  work,  but 
now  a  poUtical  party  having  taken  it  in  hand  left  little  for 
the  non- voters  to  do.     Mr.  Garrison  never  voted  but  once; 


In  the  "  Forties^  73 

Wendell  Phillips,  never.  In  1846  both  were  praying  for  the 
dissolution  of  the  Union. 

In  the  summer  of  1845  came  the  incendiary  fires.  Some  five 
or  more  barns  in  the  neighborhood  were  destroyed.  These  fires 
occurred  in  the  evening  about  nine  o'clock,  and  were  the  cause 
of  great  anxiety.  I  remember  that  our  neighbor,  Mr.  Atherton 
N.  Hunt,  hired  Elijah  Arnold  to  watch,  by  marching  back  and 
forth  on  the  hill  behind  his  barn  with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder. 

My  father  kept  a  horse  and  cows  at  that  time,  and  did  not 
want  them  burned.  He  and  I  watched  the  old  barn  through 
several  nights,  and  listened  to  the  whistles  sounding  through 
the  night  from  the  gravel  trains  at  work  in  Braintree,  building 
the  Old  Colony  Railroad. 

Having  no  fire  engine  in  the  village,  at  first  there  was  nothing 
to  do  but  to  see  the  fire  burn ;  but  soon  our  folks  obtained 
a  little  engine,  the  "Adams,"  from  Quincy.  It  was  a  small 
affair  but  answered  its  purpose  quite  well.  The  "Adams  "  was 
one  of  the  first  suction  engines  of  the  Thayer  make,  as  the 
"  Amazon  "  was  the  last. 

As  a  result  of  these  barn-burnings  a  fire  district  was  formed, 
and  a  committee  chosen  to  purchase  a  fire  engine.  At  that 
time  Hunneman  &  Co,  were  making  a  first-class  machine,  but 
from  some  unaccountable  reason  the  committee  contracted  with 
the  older  builder,  Mr.  Thayer.  The  result  was  they  got  a 
thoroughly  out-of-date  machine,  when  they  could  have  gone  to 
Hunneman  and  obtained  a  first-class  one  with  all  the  improve- 
ments of  that  day.  My  old  friend  Elbridge  Hunt  would  say : 
"  An  engine  is  nothing  but  two  force  pumps  ; "  but  there  is  a 
difference  in  the  quality  of  force  pumps. 

Well,  the  day  came  when  the  engine  was  received  with  great 
expectation  and  curiosity.  All  we  had  to  compare  it  with  was 
the  little  "Adams,"  made  years  before  by  Thayer.  Beside  the 
"  Adams,"  it  seemed  a  great  affair.  Many  of  the  Quincy  fire- 
men came  over  to  see  the  new  machine.     They  were  practical 


74  Reminiscences. 

firemen ;  what  they  did  know,  our  "  Amazon  "  firemen  never 
found  out.  They  manned  the  "  Adams  "  while  an  amateur 
company  was  improvised  for  the  new  "Amazon."  The  Quincy 
men  worked  with  a  will,  but  were  defeated.  This  was  the  first 
victory  claimed  by  the  "Amazon,"  to  be  followed  by  many 
defeats. 

A  large,  fine-looking  man,  Mr.  Oilman  Thompson,  by  the 
natural  order  of  things  became  the  foreman,  and  Mr.  Austin 
Richards  was  the  clerk.  On  our  first  excursion  we  went  to 
Plymouth.  Lawyer  Naaman  White  was  one  of  the  speakers. 
I  remember  of  his  giving  a  good  history  of  the  famous  Ama- 
zons, and  of  the  river  from  which  the  engine  was  named. 
Since  that  time  our  steamer  has  come,  and  we  might  almost 
say  gone,  and  last  our  waterworks,  but  none  of  these  has  so 
filled  the  village  as  the  old  tub,  the  "Amazon." 

In  January,  1840,  the  steamer  "Lexington,"  one  of  the  first 
Long  Island  Sound  steamers  running  to  New  York,  was  burned, 
and  with  it  most  of  the  passengers.  This  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  the  country. 

In  this  year  Fanny  Elssler,  the  famous  dancer,  came  to 
Boston  and  took  the  town  by  storm.  She  gave  a  benefit 
towards  the  completion  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument. 

On  the  14th  of  June,  1841,  the  Boston  Museum  and  Gal- 
lery of  Fine  Arts  was  opened  by  Moses  Kimball.  It  was 
called  the  "  Orthodox  Theatre,"  for  many  people  of  the  times 
would  not  go  to  a  play  in  a  theatre,  but  they  had  no  objection 
to  attend  the  same  play  in  a  museum.  So  this  play-house 
received  its  name. 

In  1843  came  the  " Millerites."  "Father"  William  Miller 
set  apart  a  day  for  closing  up  earthly  accounts,  and  built  the 
"Tabernacle"  on  Howard  street,  in  Boston,  where  he  had  many 
followers. 

In  1843  the  Weymouth  Band  was  organized,  through  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Amos  S.  White.    The  first  members  were  Amos 


In  the  "  Forties!'  75 

S.  White,  Adoniram  Bowditch,  Benjamin  Leach,  Ebenezer  A. 
Hunt,  Edmund  S.  Hunt,  Silas  Binney,  Lorenzo  H.  Loud,  and 
Francis  H.  Til  den.  Soon  others  came  in.  Our  first  public 
playing  was  at  a  Sunday-school  picnic  in  Braintree,  in  Dr. 
Storrs's  parish  July  4,  1843.  Capt.  Sam.  Hayden  was  the  chief 
marshal.  At  the  time  of  the  coming  of  the  "Amazon"  the 
band  played  fairly  well,  and  accompanied  the  firemen  on  all 
their  excursions  and  drills.  I  was  a  member  of  the  band 
fifteen  years. 

1848  and  1849  were  busy  times  in  the  village.  The  Wey- 
mouth Band  had  been  in  existence  some  five  years,  but  it  was 
without  any  regular  organization.  Mr.  Amos  S.  White,  the 
first  leader,  was  simply  serving  until  some  one  would  take  his 
place.  After  Mr.  White  came  Mr.  Robert  Raymond,  who  was 
a  good  musician  and  played  fairly  well.  He  was  leader  till 
1 848,  when  the  Band  was  reorganized  with  Mr.  Loring  Stetson 
of  South  Weymouth  as  leader,  and  Mr.  White  as  clerk.  The 
old  Band  filled  quite  a  space  in  the  village,  and  when  the  mem- 
bers gathered  in  the  old  Amazon  Hall  on  Monday  nights,  the 
time  of  meeting,  there  would  always  be  quite  a  crowd  of  inter- 
ested ones  about,  listening  to  the  music. 

In  the  "  forties  "  the  wharves  seemed  to  be  the  busiest  part 
of  the  village.  The  lumber  came  in  little  coasters  from  "down 
East "  (Maine),  and  the  wharves  were  crowded  with  piles  of 
boards  stacked  high,  and  great  timber  was  floating  in  the  dock ; 
much  of  it  was  round  and  had  to  be  hewn  square  before  it  was 
ready  for  use.  Vessels  were  bringing  grain  from  New  York 
and  Philadelphia ;  teams  were  loading  for  the  Abingtons  and 
the  Bridgewaters,  all  making  it  a  lively  place. 

The  old  steam  mill  on  the  lower  wharf  was  running  at  its 
full  capacity,  sawing,  planing  and  moulding.  In  the  later 
"forties"  a  new  mill  was  built  where  had  been  Mr.  Tilden's 
ship-yard.  The  proprietor  was  Mr.  Jonathan  Burnell.  The 
men  engaged  in  the  lumber  business  seemed  to  be  very  active 


y6  Reminiscences. 

and  full  of  competition.  I  have  tried  hard  to  unravel  the 
tangle  of  companies  in  this  business  at  that  time.  There  were 
so  many  it  is  impossible,  but  I  remember  Porter,  Loud,  Cham- 
berlin,  and  Rhines. 

Many  unskilled  workmen  were  employed,  unloading  vessels, 
and  carrying  heavy  boards  on  their  backs  to  be  stuck  up  in 
piles.  These  men  came  in  great  numbers  from  Vermont  and 
New  Hampshire,  bringing  many  new  families  into  the  village, 
who  remained  here,  making  it  their  home.  Among  these  were 
Royal  Ayres,  Solomon  Wright,  Amos  Wheelock,  Roscius  R. 
Walker,  Haskell  Boynton,  George  S.  Holden,  and  Justin 
Wright. 

About  1844  came  Mr.  Isaac  Jackson  from  Boston,  where  he 
had  been  a  dry-goods  merchant.  He  here  engaged  in  the 
lumber  business  for  a  number  of  years.  His  son,  Capt.  John 
Jackson,  is  still  living  in  our  village. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Joseph  Loud  was  doing  the  grain  and  coal 
business.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Blanchard  was  selling  coal,  as  was 
Mr.  Isaac  Blanchard.  Later,  Nathaniel  Blanchard  went  into 
company  with  Joseph  Loud,  and  the  firm  was  long  known  as 
Joseph  Loud  &  Co.  In  1843,  Worster  &  Chessmen  were  sell- 
ing wood  and  coal. 

Of  all  these  men  I  have  mentioned,  only  one,  Mr.  John  C. 
Rhines,  is  represented  to-day  in  his  son,  John  B.  Rhines,  in 
business  on  the  wharf. 

Mr.  Isaac  Blanchard  was  an  interesting  man.  He  experi- 
mented in  different  directions,  and  built  a  ship's  wheel  for 
steering,  but  most  interesting  of  all  was  a  windmill  built  to 
run  his  lathe.  Now,  I  was  always  interested  in  windmills,  and 
in  later  years  built  every  conceivable  kind  ;  but  this  particular 
windmill  of  Mr.  Blanchard's  was  the  most  interesting  of  all, 
from  its  beginning  to  its  end.  Great  things  were  expected 
from  it.  It  was  built  on  the  end  of  his  shop,  facing  the  south. 
One  day,  after  waiting   some   time   for  a  favorable  wind,  it 


In  the  "  Forties y  jy 

came  from  the  south,  and  the  mill  started  with  a  rush.  Its 
great  wings  whirling  in  the  air  frightened  all  the  horses  on  the 
wharves,  and  everything  was  in  commotion  until  the  end  came. 
If  Don  Quixote  with  his  Rosinante,  and  Sancho  with  his  ass, 
had  been  there,  the  picture  would  have  been  complete. 

Through  neglect  Mr.  Blanchard  had  failed  to  provide  a  brake, 
and  the  old  building  having  no  wheels  such  as  windmills  usually 
have,  could  not  be  turned  from  the  wind.  As  the  wind  in- 
creased it  was  a  question  which  would  last  the  longer,  the  old 
windmill  or  the  old  house.  The  windmill  finally  decided  to 
fling  itself  to  pieces,  in  disgust  at  the  staying  powers  of  the 
house ;  then  quiet  came,  the  scattered  beams  were  gathered  in, 
and  things  on  the  Fore  river  wharves  resumed  the  ordinary,  as 
if  nothing  had  happened.  The  remembrance  of  this  event 
lasted  many  days,  and  Mr,  Blanchard  was  forever  afterwards 
guyed  about  his  lost  windmill. 

Coaches  were  still  running  through  Washington  Square,  and 
continued  until  the  completion  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  in 
1 846  ;  afterwards  Franklin  Tirrell  ran  a  carriage  to  Braintree, 
to  meet  trains  to  and  from  Boston.  This  was  the  first  depot 
carriage  in  the  village. 

The  express  business  was  small ;  Mr.  Thomas  Tilden  did 
some  at  this  time.  He  was  followed  by  Mr.  Gilman  Thomp- 
son, who  continued  for  many  years.  He  also  had  a  coach 
for  carrying  pleasure  parties  to  the  Boston  theatres,  and  in 
summer  to  Nantasket,  where  then  was  only  one  hotel,  the 
Warricks.  As  I  remember,  the  shoe  manufacturers  had  cov- 
ered wagons  which  would  hold  about  all  the  goods  made  in 
a  week,  and  after  they  had  made  a  trip  to  Boston  and  return, 
there  was  little  other  expressing  to  do.  The  shoe  manufac- 
turers always  went  to  Boston  on  Saturday  to  transact  their 
business ;  they  put  up  at  Wilde's,  on  Elm  street,  where  was 
given  as  good  a  dinner  with  wine  as  could  be  had  in  Boston  — 
all  for  "two  and  threepence  ha'penny  "  (37!  cents). 


78  Reminisce  ftces. 

It  was  a  happy  day  when  the  boy  could  ride  in  over  the 
road,  and  get  his  dinner  at  this  tavern.  I  remember  the  long 
dining-room  with  tables  through  the  centre,  filled  with  every- 
thing that  the  market  could  produce,  with  decanters  of  wine 
at  intervals.  The  guests  ranged  around  the  walls  of  the  room, 
each  in  his  chair,  ready  at  the  sound  of  the  bell  to  fill  his 
place  at  the  table.  When  the  chairs  struck  the  floor,  the 
noise  was  like  the  grounding  of  arms  of  a  military  company. 
This  was  a  pleasant  place,  where  business  men  could  meet  and 
for  a  while  forget  the  cares  of  business. 

There  was  little  change  in  the  appearance  of  Washington 
Square  in  the  ** forties"  from  what  it  was  ten  years  before. 
Most  of  the  buildings  we  see  to-day  were  there  sixty  years 
ago,  —  simply  moved  about  like  a  game  of  draughts,  the  same 
old  buildings  in  a  new  place. 

Of  the  families  that  came  into  town  at  this  time,  there  were 
the  Bakers  —  Ashford,  William  and  George  —  carpenters  by 
trade.  All  have  passed  away,  but  their  descendants  are  nu- 
merous in  the  village. 

Mr.  John  RoUie  came  in  at  this  time.  He  was  a  tailor.  I 
think  he  built  the  house  so  long  the  home  of  Dr.  Nye ;  I  know 
that  he  lived  in  that  house.  He  was  a  Scotchman,  and  was 
prominent  in  the  temperance  cause.  One  time  in  a  temper- 
ance meeting  he  jumped  up  and  exclaimed:  "And  what  do 
you  think  I  saw  this  morning!  I  saw  a  man  with  a  *joog.* 
And  what  do  you  suppose  was  in  this  *  joog ' }  "  At  that  time 
a  jug  carried  by  anyone  was  supposed  to  contain  rum,  never 
vinegar  nor  molasses.  Those  were  strenuous  times  in  the  cause 
of  temperance. 

All  the  "  assemblies,"  or  dances,  were  held  in  Wales  Hall, 
and  they  were  pleasant  times.  How  well  I  can  see,  seated  in 
the  little  alcove,  the  musicians,  Mr.  George  White  and  his 
cousin,  Alden  White, —  one  with  a  clarionet  and  the  other  with 
a  fiddle.     They  were  famous  in  their  time,  and  we  could  not 


In  tfie  "Forties."  79 

have  a  dance  without  them.  They  ranged  the  whole  South 
Shore,  and  were  better  known  than  any  other  two  men ;  no 
dance  was  complete  without  their  presence. 

In  the  later  "  forties  "  a  Quadrille  Band  was  organized,  with 
Richard  and  Charles  Hunt,  first  and  second  violins ;  George 
White,  clarionet ;  Amos  S.  White,  cornet ;  and  Adoniram  Bow- 
ditch,  ophicleide.  As  we  had  not  then  heard  the  famous  Julien 
nor  Strauss,  we  thought  this  good  music. 

As  I  remember,  most  of  the  girls  came  from  Quincy,  and 
were  a  lively  lot.  Being  good  anglers  in  the  matrimonial  line, 
nearly  everyone  secured  a  Weymouth  boy  for  a  companion  in 
after-life. 

The  Band  held  many  of  these  "assemblies,"  as  they  were 
called,  and  sometimes  had  Mr.  Wales  get  up  a  fine  supper. 
Those  were  pleasant  times,  and  as  I  see  the  snug  parlor  that 
we  sometimes  engaged,  with  the  portraits  of  Mr.  Wales  and 
his  wife  looking  from  the  walls,  it  seems  one  of  the  times  that 
I  would  like  to  go  over  again. 

Oct.  27,  1845,  the  famous  opera  of  "Norma"  was  performed 
at  the  "  Howard "  in  Boston,  and  the  Seguins  brought  out 
"  The  Bohemian  Girl,"  which  was  a  great  favorite.  Who,  that 
lived  in  that  time,  but  remembers  the  favorite  air,  "  I  dreamt 
I  dwelt  in  marble  halls  "  .?  February  25,  1846,  the  "  Howard  " 
was  burned.  It  was  rebuilt  and  reopened  on  October  5  of  that 
year ;  on  this  occasion  Mr.  William  Warren  made  his  first  ap- 
pearance in  Boston. 

The  first  town  report  was  published  in  1839,  and  it  says 
nothing  about  school  matters  other  than  that  Tilley  Willis  was 
prudential  committee  of  the  Fourth  District,  and  that  he  ex- 
pended $376.33- 

In  1840  Joshua  Emery,  Abner  W.  Paine,  and  Dr.  E.  T. 
Learned,  were  the  school  committee,  and  Major  Elias  Hunt 
was  the  prudential  committee  of  the  Fourth  District.  In  1844 
the  Ninth  District  (Tufts  -School)  was  set  off  from  the  Fourth 


8o  Reminiscences. 

District,  and  ten  years  later  the  district  system  was  abolished. 

In  1 84 1  the  widow  of  Deacon  Hunt  died,  and  the  old  home- 
stead came  into  the  possession  of  the  Stetson  family,  the 
Cowing  family  moving  to  the  house  then  just  vacated  by  Mr. 
Asa  Webb,  where  they  have  since  lived.  Mr.  Caleb  Stetson 
put  the  place  in  good  repair,  and  Mr.  Atherton  N.  Hunt 
moved  in  from  the  house  on  the  "turnpike"  (now  Washington 
street).  In  the  meantime  the  little  building  that  had  been 
used  by  the  Cowings  as  a  store  and  workshop,  standing  above 
in  the  lane,  was  enlarged  and  used  by  Mr.  Hunt  for  his  shoe 
manufactory. 

At  the  same  time  the  old  brick  basement  house  by  the 
burying-ground  (Ashwood  Cemetery)  was  repaired,  and  a  shop 
built  close  by.  Mr.  Darius  Smith  moved  from  where  he  had 
lived  on  the  corner  by  Hunt's  Lane  and  the  "turnpike  "  (cor- 
ner of  Washington  and  Hunt  streets),  and  lived  here  a  num- 
ber of  years.  A  short  time  after,  his  shop  was  enlarged  and, 
as  one  of  the  patriarchs  of  old,  surrounded  by  his  family,  in- 
cluding his  sons  and  brothers,  he  manufactured  what  was 
called  custom  work.  Mr.  Smith  took  the  "  Investigator,"  and 
in  those  times  was  called  an  infidel ;  nevertheless  he  was  a 
good  business  man,  and  while  he  lived,  gave  employment  to  all 
of  his  people.  When  he  died  he  was  missed  by  all,  for  he 
was  a  man  whom  everyone  liked. 

At  this  time  Otis  Smith,  a  brother  of  Darius,  was  living  in 
the  house  above  on  the  street  which  had  formerly  been  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Addison  Chessman.  In  his  religious  views  Mr. 
Otis  Smith  was  very  unlike  his  brother  Darius,  being  one  of 
the  prominent  members  of  the  Universalist  Church.  He 
represented  the  town  in  the  General  Court  in  1859. 

The  little  shop  across  the  road  from  the  manufactory  of 
Darius  Smith  was  where  I  experimented,  making  everything 
from  a  fire-cracker  to  a  fire-engine.  I  had  an  electrical  machine 
with  its  Leyden  jar,  and  wire  around  to  the  door  of  the  shop, 


In  the  '' Forties y  8i 

ready  for  mischief  when  anyone  attempted  to  enter.  To  my 
neighbors,  the  Smiths,  who  were  busy  across  the  way,  this  all 
seemed  to  be  play ;  but  it  was  in  fact  my  school,  for  all  I  there 
learned  came  into  use  in  my  after-life,  and  helped  me  out  of 
many  difficulties. 

In  this  connection  I  must  mention  an  incident  that  caused 
much  trouble  in  1849.  My  brother  Eben  Hunt  was  going  to 
and  from  town  (Boston)  every  day.  He  was  then  just  mar- 
ried, and  was  living  with  his  wife's  people,  the  Richardses,  on 
Front  street  above.  Stopping  at  father's  one  night,  on  coming 
from  town,  he  complained  of  being  ill.  My  mother  insisted  on 
his  staying,  knowing  that  she  could  care  for  him  better  than 
anyone  else  in  the  world.  Dr.  Noah  Fifield  was  called  and 
pronounced  the  case  chicken-pox  ;  but  as  my  mother  always 
had  great  faith  in  her  old  friend.  Dr.  Appleton  Howe,  of  South 
Weymouth,  she  sent  for  him.  As  Dr.  Fifield  had  said,  so  he 
said,  it  was  chicken-pox.  Here  was  a  case  where  the  doctors 
did  agree,  and  still  both  were  wrong.  This  strange  disease 
went  through  our  family,  and  the  Smiths,  coming  into  the  old 
shop  where  I  was  at  work,  caught  the  disease,  and  then  it  was 
found  to  be  the  small-pox.  Instead  of  having  the  chicken-pox, 
our  family  had  the  varioloid.  Some  of  the  younger  members 
of  the  Smith  family  were  very  sick,  but  all  recovered. 

Mr.  David  Hunt,  till  about  1847,  was  doing  quite  a  large 
business  in  his  shop  on  Summer  street,  carrying  on  the  grocery 
store  in  connection  with  it.  He  met  with  reverses,  and  after- 
wards removed  his  business  to  Boston. 

Mr.  Francis  H,  Tilden  continued  the  shoe  business  in  the 
shop  then  near  his  dwelling-house.  At  the  end  of  the  "  for- 
ties," Mr.  Richard  E.  Loud  was  just  beginning  to  manufac- 
ture. Mr,  Stephen  W.  Nash,  afterwards  of  the  firm  of  S.  W. 
&  E.  Nash,  Ebenezer  Kingman,  George  Nash,  and  Nathaniel 
Blanchard  &  Co.  (Mr.  Silas  Binney,  Jr.),  did  a  small  shoe 
business  in  the  middle  "  forties."     These  were  all,  aside  from 


82  Reminiscences. 

those  already  mentioned,  that  I  can  remember  as  manufactur- 
ing at  the  Landing. 

These  men  made  only  a  few  cases  of  boots  a  week,  but  as 
all  the  work  done  was  hand-work,  everyone  seemed  to  be  busy. 
The  capital  employed  in  all  the  shoe  factories  in  the  village 
and  on  the  wharves  then  would  be  but  a  trifle  as  compared 
with  that  of  one  of  our  manufacturers  of  to-day, —  Mr.  George 
H.  Bicknell,  for  instance. 

The  old  factory  of  Mr.  Atherton  N.  Hunt  was  typical,  and 
the  most  interesting  of  all  to  me.  Having  formerly  been 
used  by  the  Cowings  as  a  grocery  store,  it  was  now  raised  up 
a  story,  and  the  old  corn-barn  which  stood  in  front  was  added 
on.  When  all  was  completed,  the  shop  was  of  as  many  pieces 
as  was  Joseph's  coat  of  "  colors."  It  was  called  the  "  light- 
house." 

How  well  I  can  see  Mr.  Hunt  walking  leisurely  from  his 
house  just  below,  in  the  morning  after  breakfast.  I  seem  to 
see  him  take  a  little  box  from  his  pocket,  from  which  he  takes 
a  pinch  of  fine-cut  tobacco  and  slyly  puts  it  in  his  mouth. 
This  was  his  only  dissipation.  He,  of  all  the  Hunts,  was  a 
thorough  "teetotaller,"  never  even  smoking  a  pipe  or  cigar. 
Unlike  most  of  our  people  at  that  time,  Mr.  Hunt  was  a  great 
reader,  and  enjoyed  all  the  novels  as  they  came  out.  Many 
were  read  and  talked  over  in  his  shop.  He  was  a  Whig  in 
politics,  and  was  with  Henry  Clay,  but  afterwards  did  all  he 
could  to  defeat  Clay  with  James  G.  Birney.  He  worked  hard 
to  defeat  Van  Buren  in  1840,  and  harder  still  to  elect  him  in 
1848.  With  his  brothers,  Charles  and  Richard,  he  was  always 
an  anti-slavery  man,  and  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Garrison- 
Phillips  faction.  He  was  a  good  musician,  and  was  for  sixteen 
years  President  of  the  Union  Church  choir.  In  i860  he  was 
chosen  State  Senator.  The  newspapers  came  to  his  shop  and 
were  read  aloud,  and  the  political  situation  was  talked  over  by 
all  the  shopmates. 


In  tJie  '' Forties r  83 

As  already  stated,  Mr.  Hunt  walked  leisurely  to  his  shop ; 
so  did  all  his  workmen.  All  worked  by  the  piece,  took  their 
time,  and  came  and  went  as  they  chose.  There  were  then  no 
"Knights  of  St.  Crispin,"  neither  were  there  any  "Labor 
Unions." 

With  all  of  this  freedom  Mr.  Hunt  was  somewhat  arbitrary ; 
when  he  was  through  talking  he  wanted  no  more,  and  all 
were  expected  to  be  quiet.  As  I  belonged  to  the  Band,  I 
was  full  of  music  which  sometimes  found  vent  in  a  whistle. 
Mr.  Hunt  would  say,  "  Don't  whistle,  Edmund."  With  all 
his  abitrary  ways,  he  was  always  liked  by  his  workmen,  of 
whom  I  remember  many.  Elijah  Arnold  cut  sole  leather  in 
the  lower  room  ;  Jacob  Remington,  who  came  from  Abington, 
crimped  all  the  uppers ;  Prince  E.  Nash  treed  the  boots  as 
they  came  in  from  the  makers.  Sometimes  Thomas  Tilden, 
the  expressman,  helped. 

Mr.  Hunt  occupied  the  bench  at  the  end  of  the  counter,  and 
"  transed  "  out  all  the  uppers  from  the  calf-skins ;  his  son,  E. 
Atherton  "cut  in,"  and  with  others  made  the  counters.  These 
were  tied  up  in  dozens  and  given  out  to  the  fitters,  who  stitched 
the  counters  and  then  sided  them  up.  This  part  of  the  work 
was  done  by  the  women  of  the  village.  When  fitted  and  tied 
up  in  dozens,  they  were  loaded  into  covered  wagons  with  the 
sole  leather  and  given  out  to  the  boot-makers.  Most  of  Mr. 
Hunt's  workmen  lived  in  Middle  street,  Braintree.  Of  them 
I  remember  Lewis,  Harvey,  Hezekiah,  and  Simeon  Thayer, 
Quincy  Denton,  and  John  Bowditch. 

When  Mr.  Hunt's  son  Atherton  carried  the  stock  to  these 
men,  I  frequently  went  with  him.  Not  a  machine  was  then 
used  in  the  shop.  Saturday  was  always  a  holiday.  Mr.  Hunt 
went  to  Boston,  as  did  all  the  manufacturers,  to  sell  his  boots 
and  buy  his  stock.  At  home,  the  workmen  did  little ;  some 
went  to  Shaw's  to  roll  ten-pins,  or  down  the  river  to  catch 
flounders  under  the  bridge. 


84  Reminiscences, 

Ebenezer  Hunt,  son  of  Atherton  N,  Hunt,  was  a  very  seri- 
ous kind  of  a  boy.  Being  one  year  older  than  I,  he  voted  first 
when  the  Free  Soil  party  was  formed,  and  he  took  much 
pleasure  in  telling  me  that  I  was  nothing  but  a  child  in  the 
"  eyes  of  the  law."  He  was  always  interested  in  the  political 
questions  of  the  day,  and  could  talk  seemingly  as  wise  as  his 
father,  whom,  when  young,  he  followed  in  all  things,  but  later 
it  was  otherwise.  His  father  was  much  opposed  to  secret 
societies,  but  the  son  became  a  Mason,  and  we  had  many  a 
good  time  going  to  Orphans'  Hope  Lodge  in  East  Weymouth. 
With  his  uncles  Charles,  Richard,  and  myself,  he  took  the 
thirty-second  degree  in  the  old  Masonic  Temple  in  Boston.  In 
later  years  he  became  Master  of  Delta  Lodge  in  this  village. 
Hp  was,  as  already  stated,  a  serious  boy,  old  for  his  years  and 
most  uninteresting,  but  as  the  years  went  on  he  became  one 
of  the  most  companionable  of  men. 

Of  the  old  shop  crew,  Jacob  Remington,  given  an  old  flint- 
lock rifle  and  a  few  wild  Indians,  would  have  made  a  capital 
"Leather  Stocking"  character,  right  from  the  wilds  of  the 
"Thicket "  of  Abington.  Original  from  his  birth  to  his  death, 
he  lived  to  be  a  very  old  man,  and  died  a  few  years  ago. 
Prince  E.  Nash,  after  working  for  Mr.  Hunt,  moved  to  Dan- 
vers,  and  at  one  time  was  a  temperance  lecturer.  Elijah 
Arnold  was  with  Mr.  Hunt  many  years,  and  was  one  of  his 
admirers,  though  in  his  later  years  he  was  opposed  to  Mr. 
Hunt  in  politics. 

There  were  in  those  times  no  tramps  as  we  have  to-day. 
Sometimes  a  man  would  come  into  the  shop  and  say  "  Occa- 
sion ? " — "  only  this  and  nothing  more."  We  used  to  call  such 
men  "tramping  jours," — "jours"  being  short  for  journeymen. 
He  carried,  rolled  up  in  his  apron,  all  the  kit  needed  for  making 
a  boot.  If  there  was  no  "occasion  "  for  his  work,  he  went  on ; 
if  otherwise,  he  secured  a  chair  or  stool,  spread  his  kit  and 
went  to  work.     Finding  a  bench,  he  soon  was  established,  be- 


In  tJie  ''Forties"  85 

came  a  citizen,  got  married,  raised  a  family,  worked  for  years, 
and  then  died. 

The  "  tramping  jour "  in  the  shoe  business,  like  the  men 
who  tramped  from  up  in  the  country  to  the  wharves  to  carry 
lumber  on  their  shoulders,  was  the  means  of  bringing  new 
blood  into  the  old  village.  In  time  some  of  these  became 
successful  business  men  and  acquired  wealth,  and  did  much 
for  the  town. 

In  1844  the  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Thomas  B.  Porter  and 
Peter  Lane,  on  the  "  turnpike "  (Washington  street),  was 
burned.  This  house  was  formerly  the  old  Weymouth  and 
Braintree  Academy.  After  this,  Mr.  Porter  built  and  lived 
in  the  house  on  the  corner,  near  the  Universahst  Church,  and 
now  occupied  by  Dr.  William  F.  Hathaway.  Captain  Peter 
Lane  built  on  half  of  the  old  Academy  cellar,  the  house  now 
occupied  by  Frederick  Cate,  who  married  Captain  Lane's 
daughter.  Mr.  Rufus  K.  Trott  lived  in  the  house  just  above, 
but  which  was  soon  occupied  for  many  years  by  Mr.  Ezra 
Leach. 

Next  above  Mr.  John  O.  Foye  had  built  his  dwelling,  and 
opposite,  his  shop.  Mr.  Foye  was  a  carpenter,  as  also  was  his 
brother  Stephen,  the  church-builder.  Mr.  Foye  was  prominent 
in  the  Universalist  Church,  and  a  man  of  influence  in  all  that 
was  going  on  in  the  village.  As  I  remember,  in  his  later  years 
he  became  quite  a  traveller  and  journeyed  as  far  as  Palestine. 

Jeremiah  Bailey  was  Mr.  Foye's  right-hand  man,  and  I  re- 
member how  his  horse  turned  in  a  circle  to  drive  the  machines 
in  his  carpenter's  shop  where  he  made  sashes  and  blinds. 
Things  in  this  shop  moved  just  as  leisurely  as  they  did  in 
Hunt's  shoe  shop, 

I  find  the  following  petition  in  some  old  papers  which  I  think 
it  will  be  of  interest  to  our  people  to-day :  — 

To  the  Honorable  the  Senate,  and  the  Honorable  the  House  of 
Representatives  in  General  Court  assembled  : 


86  Reminiscences, 

The  Subscribers,  citizens  of  the  towns  of  Weymouth  and  Brain- 
tree  in  the  County  of  Norfolk,  respectfully  represent,  that  public 
convenience  and  necessity  require  that  a  Rail  Road  should  be  con- 
structed from  Weymouth  to  Boston,  commencing  at  a  point  near  the 
Post  Office  at  East  Weymouth,  and  running  to  a  point  near  the  head 
of  navigation  on  Weymouth  Fore  River ;  thence  through  the  centre 
of  the  town  of  Quincy,  and  thence  through  the  towns  of  Dorchester 
and  Roxbury  to  a  point  in  the  City  of  Boston  near  the  Boston  and 
Providence  Rail  Road  Depot. 

They,  therefore,  pray  that  they  may  be  incorporated  for  that  pur- 
pose, with  all  the  powers  and  privileges  and  subject  to  all  the  liabil- 
ities contained  in  the  thirty-ninth  Chapter  of  the  Revised  Statutes, 
concerning  Rail  Road  Corporations. 

And  as  in  duty  bound  will  ever  pray. 

Noah  Fifield  Cyrus  Lincoln 

Amos  Stetson  Samuel  Reed 

Dean  Randall  Roscius  R.  Walker 

Elias  Richards  Isaac  L.  Blanchard 

John  W.  Loud  Ezekiel  Worster 

T.  B.  Porter  William  Cole 

John  C.  Rhines  Peter  Lane 

Ira  Curtis  George  Blanchard 

Joseph  Loud,  Jr.  Fisher  A.  Kingsbury 

Jacob  Richards  Eli  Thayer 

Caleb  Stetson  Asa  B.  Wales 

James  White,  2d  Alexander  Bowditch 

Elisha  Blanchard  Eben  C.  Bowditch 

Joseph  Loud  William  W.  Hobart 

Warren  Loud  J,  W.  Hayden 

Amos  W.  Stetson  N.  W.  Loring 

John  B.  Allen  Samuel  Bowditch 

Nov.  6th,  1844. 

A  true  Copy:        Attest 

Silas  Binney, 

Deputy  Sheriff. 

In  the  "  forties  "  some  were  trying  to  fly  through  the  air. 
There  are  folks  to-day  who  remember  George  Willis  and  Tur- 
ner Torrey,  and  how  hard  they  worked  and  experimented  to 


In  the  '' Forties y  %^ 

spread  their  wings  and  soar  above  their  neighbors.  Having 
made  their  wings  and  practiced  with  them  to  get  accustomed, 
they  went  to  a  steep  ledge  behind  Mr.  George  Baker's  house 
to  get  a  start  by  jumping  off  the  ledge  to  the  ground  below. 
The  trial  was  not  a  success,  from  a  "  lack  of  tail  feathers,"  as 
it  was  said  at  the  time.  Mr.  Torrey  afterwards  manufactured 
beer  and  blacking,  and  the  jokers  called  it  "wing"  beer  and 
"  wing "  blacking.  One  could  joke  Mr.  Torrey  about  the 
"tail  feathers,"  and  he  would  join  in,  but  it  was  not  safe  for 
the  boys  to  say  "  tail  feathers  "  to  his  partner,  for  he  would 
not  take  a  joke. 

On  January  ii,  1845,  another  petition  was  made  to  the 
General  Court,  to  run  a  railroad  from  Hingham  across  Back 
river,  through  "  Old  Spain,"  and  crossing  the  Fore  river  at 
Quincy  Point,  thence  to  the  Old  Colony  road  near  the  "Stone" 
Church  in  Quincy.  This  was  signed  by  Thomas  Loring  and 
others.  The  North  Weymouth  folks  worked  hard  to  get  this 
road  through,  telling  the  amount  of  business  done  in  the  place 
as  an  inducement.  Among  other  things  they  told  the  amount 
of  flour  used  in  their  village,  which  was  more  than  was  actually 
used  in  the  whole  town. 

Mr.  Thomas  Tilden  did  some  work  at  Hunt's  shop,  a  little 
expressing,  and  afterwards  kept  a  livery  stable.  Who  of  that 
time  can  forget  his  "  Tom  "  and  best  chaise,  painted  as  he  used 
to  say,  "  the  color  of  my  friend  Keith's  face."  His  best  team 
I  had  many  a  Sunday,  and  when  getting  in  he  would  tuck  the 
robe  around  me  and  say,  with  a  round  oath :  "  Don't  let  any 
one  pass  you  on  the  road  I  "  Mr.  Tilden's  language  would  not 
have  become  a  Sunday  School  superintendent,  but  it  was  always 
honest, 

A  rival  in  business  was  Peter  Cushing,  "  Uncle  Peter  "  as  all 
called  him.  In  our  parties  to  the  beach  there  were  many  horse 
trots  on  the  way  home,  and  unless  the  one  who  hired  from 
"  Uncle  Peter  "  let  the  horse's  breeching  out,  he  was  sure  to 


88  Reminiscences. 

be  beaten.  The  horse  could  not  let  himself  out,  as  "Uncle 
Peter  "  shrewdly  managed  to  have  the  breeching  short,  and  so 
saved  his  horses  many  a  hard  drive. 

Some  time  in  the  early  "  forties,"  Mr.  Atherton  W.  Tilden 
built  a  large  craft  at  his  shipyard,  and  trying  to  launch  it,  she 
stuck  in  the  mud.  In  great  trouble  Mr.  Tilden  sent  to  Boston 
for  Lowe  &  Sons,  riggers,  to  come  and  help  get  the  vessel 
off.  They  came  with  heavy  blocks  and  tackle,  and  when  all 
was  ready  and  the  tide  high,  it  was  the  middle  of  Sunday  fore- 
noon ;  but  Mr.  Tilden  could  not  afford  to  wait,  as  the  expense 
was  so  great. 

Thomas  Tilden,  unbeknown  to  his  father,  had,  while  getting 
ready  for  the  launching,  loaded  up  the  old  swivel  full  to  the 
very  muzzle,  and  had  the  gun  back  of  the  shiphouse,  just  op- 
posite the  old  Union  Church,  ready  to  fire  when  the  vessel 
moved  from  the  "ways."  All  was  ready  to  knock  away  the 
"  dogshores "  and  let  her  go,  when  who  should  appear  on 
the  scene  but  the  two  deacons  of  Mr.  Perkins's  church,  close 
by — Deacon  Newcomb  and  Deacon  Nash — protesting  against 
launching  the  vessel  on  Sunday  and  during  the  service.  Mr. 
Tilden,  who  was  full  of  trouble  and  anxiety,  and  in  no  mood 
to  be  meddled  with,  told  them  plainly  that  he  did  not  care 
to  have  them  interfere  with  him,  and  that  he  should  launch 
the  ship. 

Just  as  the  vessel  moved  from  the  "ways,"  the  old  gun 
spoke  out  from  behind  the  shiphouse,  and,  as  its  echoes  rolled 
away,  capped  the  climax.  It  seemed  a  direct  defiance  of  the 
old  church  and  its  deacons,  and  Mr.  Tilden  having  expressed 
himself  in  profane  language,  was,  as  I  find  in  looking  over  the 
church  records,  haled  before  the  church  for  desecration  of  the 
Sabbath. 

In  1 848  came  the  Free  Soil  party  with  Martin  Van  Buren 
and  Charles  Francis  Adams,  Sr.,  as  candidates.  The  rallying 
cry  was,  "  Van  Buren  and  free  soil,  Adams  and  liberty." 


In  the  ''Ponies!*  89 

Daniel  Webster  said  on  this  occasion  that  for  the  leader  of 
the  Free  Spoils  party  to  become  the  leader  of  the  Free  Soil 
party  would  be  a  joke  to  shake  his  sides.  From  the  time  of 
Jackson's  administration  down  to  1845,  the  town  was  Demo- 
cratic. At  this  time  the  new  party,  made  up  of  the  old 
Anti-Slavery  Whigs  who  had  followed  Henry  Clay,  and  many 
disaffected  Democrats,  were  so  strong  in  town  as  to  be  able 
to  defeat  the  candidates  nominated  by  the  Democrats,  and 
after  much  balloting  it  was  decided  to  send  but  one  Repre- 
sentative to  the  General  Court.  James  L.  Bates  was  chosen 
at  this  time. 

In  the  two  following  years  the  town  was  not  represented, 
the  new  party  being  strong  enough  to  prevent  an  election  of 
their  opponents,  but  not  strong  enough  to  choose  one  of  their 
own.  In  1848  came  the  Presidential  election,  and  the  Free 
Soil  party  was  but  just  organized.  There  was  a  great  political 
fight  in  town  between  them  and  the  Democrats.  After  this 
date  the  Whigs  were  of  little  note. 

The  fall  town-meeting  for  the  choice  of  Representatives  to 
the  General  Court  was  held  in  the  Universalist  Church  in  this 
village.  It  was  the  largest  town-meeting  known  up  to  that 
time,  and  it  was  so  large  that  the  house  could  not  be  polled 
but  adjourned  to  the  street,  and  a  long  procession  was  formed 
from  Washington  Square  to  the  Academy  Hill,  and  then  was 
counted.  On  the  question  of  dividing  the  town  there  was  no 
choice. 

The  next  year  John  C.  Rhines,  Sr.,  and  Noah  Vining,  Jr., 
both  being  Democrats,  were  chosen  Representatives.  Fore- 
most in  the  political  campaigns  in  the  village  were  Atherton, 
Charles,  Richard,  and  El  bridge  Hunt,  Thomas  and  Whitcomb 
Porter,  Adoram  Clapp,  and  as  I  remember  him,  Nathaniel 
Blanchard,  the  most  active  man  of  all.  He  always  seemed  to 
be  working  for  someone  other  than  himself,  for  I  do  not  find 
his  name  among  the  town  officers.     I  have  not  included  my 


90  Reminiscences. 

father  in  this  list,  for  until  the  "  Coalition,"  he  was  a  Jackson 
Democrat. 

To  show  just  how  high  politics  ran,  I  will  say  that  in  1844 
my  father  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  to  represent  the  town. 
When  town-meeting  day  came,  his  relatives,  the  Hunts,  turned 
out  to  a  man  to  defeat  him,  carrying  voters  with  teams.  I  re- 
member Daniel  Holbrook,  the  old  shoemaker,  had  no  coat  to 
wear,  and  so  my  father's  nephew,  Charles  E.  Hunt,  took  off 
his  own  and  loaned  it  to  him  for  the  occasion. 

In  1 848  the  old  **  Lighthouse  "  in  the  lane  showed  out  in  its 
brightest  light,  illuminating  the  village.  Business  was  little 
thought  of  ;  politics  was  all  that  was  talked  about.  Transpar- 
encies bearing  the  names  "Van  Buren  and  Adams  "  were  used 
in  the  torch-light  parades,  of  which  there  were  many. 

The  candidates  were  Van  Buren  and  Adams,  Free  Soil ;  Cass 
and  Butler,  Democratic  ;  and  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  Whigs,  who 
were  the  successful  candidates.  General  Taylor  was  the  hero 
of  the  Mexican  war,  and  had  always  been  in  the  United  States 
Army,  having  never  voted.  He  was  neither  Whig  nor  Dem- 
ocrat, but  an  available  man,  and  proved  to  be  a  good  President. 
He  died  on  July  9,  1850,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Vice- 
President,  Millard  Fillmore. 

With  the  coming  into  power  of  the  Whigs,  the  Democrats 
were  turned  out  of  office  and  replaced  by  Whigs.  As  this 
was  their  first  inning,  they  were  hungry  for  office,  and  Lawyer 
Kingsbury,  who  had  held  the  office  of  postmaster  many  years, 
was  removed,  and  Mr.  Asa  B.  Wales  appointed.  At  first  the 
post  office  was  in  his  hotel ;  but  as  some  objected  to  going 
there  for  their  mail,  he  afterwards  kept  it  in  a  small  building 
in  his  yard.  This  moving  the  post  office  from  where  it  had 
been  for  so  many  years  to  new  quarters,  was  a  great  change 
for  the  village  folks. 

Mr.  Kingsbury  had  been  accustomed  to  have  some  of  the 
boys  help  him,  of  whom  I  remember  Peter  Cushing  and  Ben. 


In  tlie  ''Forties."  9I 

Thayer.  A  bachelor,  he  liked  to  have  the  boys  around,  and 
made  it  a  pleasant  place. 

Fisher  A.  Kingsbury  was  a  man  of  much  prominence  in  the 
village.  For  many  years  he  did  most  of  the  law  business,  and 
his  office  was  in  Washington  Square.  This  building  was  the 
post  office  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Kingsbury  was  a  temperance  man,  always  active  in  the 
cause.  He  made  many  enemies  amongst  those  who  sold  intox- 
icating liquors.  I  remember  the  time  when  his  office  was  blown 
up  by  gunpowder,  lifting  it  off  its  foundation.  At  this  time  Mr. 
Kingsbury  was  living  in  Mr.  Ezra  Leach's  family,  but  after  this 
affair  he  fitted  up  a  room  and  slept  in  his  office.  After  he  was 
removed  from  the  office  of  postmaster,  he  was  missed  for  several 
days,  and  on  breaking  into  his  office  he  was  found  unconscious 
from  a  paralytic  shock.  At  this  time  he  was  an  old  man,  and 
partly  recovering,  soon  after  left  Weymouth  to  live  with  his 
sister,  Mrs.  Richardson,  with  whom  he  died. 

In  his  early  days  there  were  Lawyer  Breck  just  by,  in  Brain- 
tree,  and  Squire  Christopher  Webb,  and  afterwards  came  Naa- 
man  White  ;  but  in  looking  over  old  deeds  and  conveyances 
I  find  the  name  of  Fisher  A.  Kingsbury  oftener  than  the 
others.  I  cannot  find  that  he  ever  held  a  town  office ;  perhaps 
he  made  himself  unpopular  from  his  work  in  the  temperance 
cause. 

Before  Mr.  Kingsbury's  time  the  post  office  was  in  the  store 
of  Tufts  &  Whittemore,  Mr.  Tufts,  and  aftewards  Mr.  Whitte- 
more,  being  postmasters.  They  occupied  the  store  where  is 
now  the  Tufts  Library  building,  and  the  post  office  was  almost 
exactly  where  it  is  to-day. 

In  writing  of  the  business  done  in  the  "  Square  "  I  omitted 
to  mention  Phineas  Pratt  and  Thomas  Davis.  Mr.  Pratt  was 
a  tailor  at  the  same  time  as  Mr.  Adlington,  and,  as  I  remember 
him,  was  always  much  interested  in  the  Union  Church  and 
Sunday  School.     He  lived  on  Front  street,  in  the  house  form- 


92  Reminiscences. 

erly  occupied  by  Luke  Bicknell,  but  now  by  the  heirs  of  the 
late  Mr.  John  E.  Hunt. 

Thomas  Davis,  called  "Tinker"  Davis,  was  the  tinman  who 
mended  the  milk-pails  and  pans  for  the  village  folks.  His  little 
shop  stood  just  by  Caleb  Hunt's,  near  Smelt  Brook. 

Mr.  Ezra  Leach  did  all  the  plumbing  for  the  village.  At 
this  time  pumps  were  replacing  the  well-sweep  and  the  wind- 
lass in  the  wells,  and  the  lead  pipe  used  came  in  short  lengths 
of  twelve  feet,  which  had  to  be  soldered  together.  Mr.  Leach 
did  this,  and  as  I  remember,  seldom  made  a  tight  joint,  from 
the  crude  methods  he  used.  He  also  leathered  the  boxes,  and 
when  the  pump  at  home  was  out  of  order  I  was  always  sent  for 
Mr.  Leach.  He  then  lived  on  the  "  turnpike  "  (Washington 
street),  just  above  the  old  Academy. 

At  that  time  the  building  of  the  "  South  Shore  Railroad  " 
through  to  Cohasset  was  going  on.  On  Jan.  14,  1845,  the  peti- 
tion for  the  road  to  extend  from  near  the  post-office  in  Cohasset, 
thence  to  Hingham,  thence  to  East  Weymouth,  to  the  head  of 
navigation  on  Weymouth  Fore  river,  thence  to  a  point  in  Quincy 
near  the  Town  Hall,  connecting  with  the  Old  Colony  Railroad 
was  presented.  This  petition  was  signed  by  Laban  Souther  and 
others.     On  Jan.  i,  1849,  the  road  was  finished  and  opened. 

In  the  year  1845,  as  I  have  previously  mentioned,  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  buy  a  suitable  engine  for  the  place, 
and  decided  on  a  Thayer  tub,  —  I  think  the  last  one  ever 
built.  I  never  could  understand  why  this  engine  was  bought, 
as  the'Hunneman  engine  was  so  much  superior  in  principle 
and  workmanship,  the  Thayer  engine  having  cast  iron  works, 
while  the  Hunneman's  were  of  composition.  However,  the  en- 
gine came,  and  my  cousin  Elbridge  G.  Hunt  and  myself  always 
"  blowed  "  for  the  "  Amazon  "  ;  each  had  many  an  argument 
in  favor  of  it,  knowing  all  the  time  it  was  inferior  to  the  more 
modern  machines.  We  learned  to  love  the  old  tub  and  were 
always  ready  to  uphold  its  prowess. 


In  the  '' Forties r  93 

On  the  engine's  arrival  in  town  we  played  in  Washington 
Square.  A  company  was  organized  and  Mr.  Oilman  Thomp- 
son chosen  foreman.  No  better-looking  foreman  could  be 
found  the  world  over,  but  the  foreman  and  the  company  were 
entirely  devoid  of  engine-guile,  from  which  lack  the  "Amazon" 
was  much  handicapped,  and  at  trials  usually  beaten  ;  in  fact  the 
Tigers,  our  great  competitors,  usually  devoured  us. 

Our  company  was  of  the  best  people  in  the  village,  who 
wanted  all  fair  and  honorable.  Our  opponents  were  the  op- 
posite, and  I  think  the  Amazons  were  handicapped  from 
lack  of  profanity  in  the  foreman,  for  the  men  to  be  called 
everything  vile  seemed  to  put  life  into  them.  In  fact  an  en- 
gine trial  was  anything  but  a  prayer  meeting,  although  the 
saints  and  sinners  worked  in  harmony  together  for  victory. 
One  great  fault  was  our  lack  of  judgment  in  going  into  the 
enemy's  country  (Quincy)  for  help,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think 
they  played  us  false. 

In  1849  the  "Amazon"  engine  had  been  in  town  but  two 
years,  and  was  just  as  interesting  as  at  first.  Always  on  trial 
it  was  not  always  successful,  but  it  was  ever  in  a  state  of  trans- 
ition from  wooden  to  iron  and  extension  brakes,  or  enlarging 
her  cylinders ;  some  mysterious  men  hard  at  work  in  the  engine- 
house  putting  her  in  order,  and  using  great  secresy  that  rival 
engines  should  not  know  of  the  improvement.  At  this  time 
the  Amazons  entertained  the  Lynn  firemen,  who  came  with 
Bond's  famous  Band,  and  the  day  was  filled  with  music  and 
marching.  In  the  evening  there  was  an  entertainment  in 
Wales  Hall,  and  on  the  next  morning  we  escorted  them  to 
Hingham  to  take  the  boat  for  home. 

In  after-years  a  new  engine  came  into  the  village  —  the 
"Union" — which  is  still  here,  a  fine  tub  with  all  the  best 
that  is  known  to  date.  Sport  came  when  the  new  tub  arrived, 
for  the  Amazons  were  bound  to  beat,  and  so  were  the  Unions. 
I  think  our  first  trial  was  at  what  is  called  the  Park,  back  of 


94  Reminiscences . 

the  Richards  house.  Mr.  Thomas  Pratt  was  judge  for  the 
"  Union  "  and  I  for  the  "  Amazon."  The  engines  were  placed 
back  in  the  field,  and  the  paper  in  the  roadway  opposite  the 
old  Elliott  White  house,  Mr.  Granville  Thompson  then  living 
there.  The  Amazons  had  the  first  play,  and  the  distance  was 
measured  on  the  paper.  Then  came  the  Unions,  who  were 
bound  to  beat.  I  can  see  my  old  friend  South  on  the  "  Union," 
urging  on  the  boys. 

Now  the  result :  The  "Union  "  played  a  little  farther  on  the 
paper  than  the  "  Amazon."  Consequence :  The  Amazons 
"  had  their  tails  down,"  and  were  discouraged ;  some  went 
home,  forgetting  the  oyster  supper  that  was  to  come  off  but 
did  not.  The  Unions,  oh  my !  did  not  they  throw  their  hats 
in  the  air  ?  I  well  remember  friend  South,  the  "  Union  "  fore- 
man, throwing  his  hat  in  the  air  and  putting  his  fist  through 
the  top. 

After  the  excitement  had  calmed  a  little,  the  judges  pro- 
ceeded to  verify  the  measures.  I  say  the  judges,  but  I  should 
say  the  judge,  for  at  once  Mr.  Pratt  took  it  into  his  own  hands, 
also  a  shingle,  on  which,  carpenter-like,  he  figured  the  result, 
all  standing  close  by.  Now,  no  one  had  taken  into  considera- 
tion where  the  tubs  stood  when  they  played ;  so  to  the  surprise 
of  all,  Mr.  Pratt  figured  on  the  shingle  that  the  "  Amazon  " 
had  won  by  some  nine  inches.  Just  at  that  time  one  could  say 
there  was  a  great  revulsion  of  feeling,  so  the  trial  finished  in 
the  afternoon.  In  the  evening  the  judge  who  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  judgment,  had  a  call  from  Mr.  Granville  Thompson 
and  other  friends  of  the  "Union,"  who  said  that  the  "  Union  " 
and  not  the  "Amazon"  had  won,  that  Mr.  Thompson's  wife 
saw  the  streams  from  her  window,  and  that  the  "  Union " 
played  much  the  farther.  I  told  the  "  Union  "  man  I  was  per- 
fectly satisfied  with  Mr.  Pratt's  decision,  and  so  it  went  on 
record  that  the  "Amazon"  whipped  the  "Union."  Many 
years  ago  the  "  Amazon  "  ended  its  days  in  Weymouth,  and  of 


In  the  '' Forties r  95 

those  who  "  ran  with  the  machine  "  few  are  left  to  tell  its 
story. 

When  the  "  Amazon  "  came,  there  were  no  steam  fire-en- 
gines, and  we  had  challenges  from  other  "tubs,"  mostly  in 
Quincy,  The  Quincy  men  were  of  those  who  worked  out-of- 
doors,  stone-cutters  and  others,  hard  and  tough ;  while  on  the 
"Amazon  "  the  men  were  mostly  of  the  shops.  This  gave  the 
Quincy  tub  a  great  advantage.  In  contests  with  it  the  old 
"Amazon  "  was  greatly  handicapped  and  nearly  always  beaten. 
But  though,  as  I  have  said,  the  "  Amazon "  company  was 
always  at  work  to  improve  their  tub,  replacing  the  wooden 
brakes  by  lengthened  iron  ones  and  putting  in  larger  cylin- 
ders, the  engine  was  never  improved.  The  men  who  built  her 
made  the  best  Thayer  tub  possible.  Our  trouble  was  with  the 
company.  They  talked  more  than  they  practiced  on  the  brakes, 
while  our  opponents  worked  the  brakes  to  perfection.  So  in 
summing  up,  the  old  "  Amazon  "  was  usually  defeated,  until 
the  new  "  Union  "  came  to  town  and  then  there  was  a  change, 
for  the  "  Amazon  "  was  a  larger  tub,  and  when  playing  tub  and 
tub  was  sure  to  win,  and  on  distance  did  as  well,  as  our  famous 
trial  shows. 

On  January  24,  1848,  gold  was  found  in  California,  but 
it  was  not  until  later  in  the  year  that  people  generally 
believed  in  the  discovery.  By  the  middle  of  the  summer  the 
news  was  believed  everywhere,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world 
thousands  flocked  to  the  gold-diggings.  The  first  immigra- 
tion into  that  country  was  from  Mexico,  Peru,  Chili,  and  the 
countries  near-by.  It  was  not  until  1849  that  the  gold-fever 
reached  Weymouth. 

There  were  three  ways  to  get  to  California  —  a  six  months' 
voyage  around  Cape  Horn ;  across  the  Isthmus  of  Panama ; 
and  by  the  overland  route,  which  was  a  wagon  journey  of 
more  than  two  thousand  miles.  In  the  summer  of  1849  I 
remember  going  down  to  the  end  of  Long  Wharf  in  Boston, 


g6  Reminiscences. 

where  lay  the  old  ship  "  Cordova,"  getting  ready  for  the 
voyage  around  Cape  Horn.  I  seem  to  see  her  deck  covered 
with  all  manner  of  luggage,  and  the  crew  stowing  it  away. 
The  old  ship  seemed  but  a  poor  craft  to  make  so  long  a 
journey,  but  she  had  good  luck  and  arrived  at  her  destination 
in  San  Francisco,  safe  and  sound,  distancing  many  a  younger 
craft. 

Of  those  who  went  on  the  "  Cordova,"  I  remember  Mr, 
George  Bartlett,  2d,  who  was  cashier  of  the  old  Union  Bank 
of  Weymouth  from  Dec.  30,  1845,  till  May,  1849.  He  was 
the  son  of  Mr.  George  Bartlett,  cashier  of  the  Quincy 
Bank. 

Thomas  Ellis,  who  had  been  in  company  with  Mr.  A.  S. 
White,  from  some  trouble  or  other  was  put  aboard  the  "  Cor- 
dova" off  Boston  Light.  Mr.  Freeman  Whitmarsh,  in  his 
sail-boat  the  "  Panther,"  took  Mr,  Ellis  from  Weymouth  to 
Hull,  and  off  Hull  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  "  Cordova."  Mr. 
Samuel  Burrell,  as  I  remember  him  one  of  the  happiest  and 
pleasantest,  was  another  of  this  party.  One  of  those  who  went 
on  the  old  ship  is  still  living,  my  neighbor  Mr.  John  Phillips, 
who  likes  dearly  to  tell  about  the  "forty-niners."  Afterwards 
he  went  to  California  again  with  his  friend  Freeman  Whitmarsh. 
Mr.  Thomas  Mellen,  the  florist,  who  but  recently  died,  carried 
his  kit  and  some  stock,  to  be  ready  for  the  first  job  that  should 
turn  up.  At  that  time  he  was  a  shoemaker  by  trade  and  was 
wonderfully  quick  at  his  work,  Mr.  Burrell  used  to  tell  the 
story  that  he  wanted  a  pair  of  slippers,  and  so  gave  Mr.  Mel- 
len his  first  job  after  leaving  home.  Mounting  to  the  "  main- 
top" of  the  "Cordova  "  with  his  kit  and  leather,  Mr.  Mellen 
commenced  work.  Wanting  something  from  below,  he  sent 
Mr.  Burrell  for  it,  who,  on  returning,  found  Mr.  Mellen  quietly 
smoking  his  pipe :  asking  about  his  slippers,  Mr.  Mellen  simply 
pointed  to  them  hanging  up  in  the  rigging  to  dry,  and  ready 
for  Burrell  to  put  on. 


In  the  ^^  Forties y  97 

I  read  that  in  1849,  39,000  people  went  to  California  by  sea 
and  42,000  by  land.  Mr.  Albion  Hall  of  our  village,  who  died 
recently,  went  overland,  in  company  with  Mr.  John  Phillips  of 
Marshfield,  Mass. 

There  were  many  others  beside  those  I  have  mentioned  who 
went  in  search  of  gold :  —  the  late  Mr.  Edwin  P.  Worster,  his 
brothers  John,  Henry  and  Thomas  Worster,  Elias  Nash,  Wil- 
liam Cowing,  and  William  Chessman  who  is  still  living  in  the 
far  northwest,  and  one  of  the  few  who  prospered  from  leaving 
Weymouth. 

Later,  in  1850,  Mr.  John  P.  Peterson  and  Mr.  Atherton  W. 
Tilden,  the  ship-builder,  caught  the  gold  fever  and  together 
went  to  California.  Well  do  I  remember  the  day  some  nine- 
teen months  after,  being  in  the  shop  of  his  son  Mr.  Francis  H, 
Tilden,  when  word  came  that  his  father  had  returned,  a  very 
sick  man.     He  died  Nov.  4,  185 1,  a  few  hours  after  his  arrival. 

In  1847  a  new  doctor  came  to  town.  Dr.  Josiah  Ball,  a  hom- 
oeopath in  practice.  He  was  a  young  man  of  much  promise, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  School  Committee  from  1848  till  his 
death,  Aug.  15,  1850.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Lewis  War- 
ren, a  physician  in  the  village  for  a  number  of  years,  who 
also  followed  Dr.  Ball  on  the  School  Board.  Dr.  Warren 
married  the  widow  of  Dr.  Ball,  and  was  afterwards  in  the 
apothecary  business. 

In  1847  I^r.  Hervey  E.  Weston  began  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  the  village,  and  continued  for  several  years.  He  was 
an  eccentric  man,  and  unlike  the  other  doctors  :  if  his  patient 
was  poor,  he  made  no  charge.  His  profession  seemed  to  him 
more  a  pleasure  than  a  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood. 

I  have  known  only  one  physician  (other  than  Dr.  Weston), 
Dr.  Jacob  Richards,  who  was  born  and  practiced  in  our  village. 
Perhaps  he  and  Dr.  Applet  on  Howe  taught  school  in  the  old 
Fourth  District  before  I  first  attended,  when  I  was  four  years 
old  (1831). 


98  Reminiscences. 

Before  Mr.  George  Bartlett,  Mr.  Thomas  R.  Hanson  was 
cashier  of  the  Union  Bank  from  its  organization  in  1832.  I 
find  that  he  was  an  Assessor  for  the  town  for  1847,  1848  and 
1849.  When  Mr.  Bartlett  went  to  California,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Mr.  John  W.  Loud,  who  filled  a  large  place  in  the 
village,  always  working  hard  for  its  interests.  For  years  Mr. 
Loud  was  most  prominent  in  the  Union  Church.  He  was  a 
Selectman  in  1834,  and  in  later  years  was  many  times  a  mem- 
ber of  the  School  Committee. 

In  looking  over  the  past  of  the  town,  I  find  that  few  except 
Democrats  where  chosen  to  office  in  the  "thirties"  and  "for- 
ties." Even  the  field-drivers  were  Democrats.  Mr.  Loud, 
being  a  Whig  in  politics,  was  less  frequently  chosen  to  town 
office. 

Lawyer  Elijah  F.  Hall  came  at  this  time.  As  I  remember, 
he  was  a  good  lawyer  and  one  of  the  most  genial  of  men.  It 
was  a  pleasure  to  meet  him  in  his  office.  Like  Drs.  Ball  and 
Warren,  soon  after  his  arrival  in  the  village,  he  was  put  on  to  the 
School  Board.  Mr.  Hall  was  a  Democrat,  and  succeeded  Mr. 
Asa  B.  Wales  as  Postmaster.  This  position  he  held  through  the 
administrations  of  President  Pierce  and  President  Buchanan. 
He  built  and  lived  in  the  building  so  long  occupied  by  the 
late  Granville  Thompson,  the  jeweller. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Burnell  continued  in  his  steam  mill  business 
for  only  a  short  time.  He  was  followed  by  H.  &  E.  A. 
Boynton,  then  by  Theodore  J.  Rand,  then  Ephraim  Bradford, 
and  finally  Henry  Peterson.  The  old  mill  was  a  lively  place, 
giving  employment  to  quite  a  number  of  men,  all  making 
doors,  sashes,  and  blinds.  In  those  times  there  was  little 
work  for  boys  in  the  shops  and  none  for  girls,  whereas  now 
boys  and  girls  do  the  greater  part  of  the  work  in  many  fac- 
tories. This  is  owing  principally  to  the  use  of  machinery, 
which  the  boy  and  girl  just  from  school  can  operate  better 
than  elderly  people. 


In  the  ^^  Forties!'  99 

In  December,  1849,  was  the  last  appearance  in  the  Senate 
at  Washington  of  Henry  Clay  and  John  C.  Calhoun,  both  old 
men,  long  in  the  service  of  the  country.  As  I  remember, 
Henry  Clay  was  a  great  favorite.  I  can  now  see  his  portrait 
hanging  on  the  walls  in  the  house  of  my  cousin  Richard  A. 
Hunt,  and  this  is  what  I  read  of  Mr.  Clay :  — 

He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  ability,  and  knew  men  well, 
but  had  no  knowledge  of  books,  as  the  gaming  tables  had  at- 
tractions that  he  could  not  find  in  his  library.  According  to 
the  custom  of  the  times  he  drank  to  excess,  but  his  warm  heart 
made  for  him  a  multitude  of  friends.  No  man  has  been  loved 
as  the  people  of  the  United  States  loved  Henry  Clay,  the  great 
compromiser.  John  C.  Calhoun  honestly  believed  that  slavery 
was  right,  and  lived  for  the  cause  of  slavery.  California,  com- 
ing into  the  Union  as  a  free  State,  was  a  great  disappointment 
to  the  South, 

To-day,  when  the  newspaper  comes  it  is  quietly  read,  and 
then  the  reader  goes  to  his  club.  It  was  not  so  in  the  times 
of  which  I  am  writing.  The  men  gathered  in  the  shops  and 
talked  over  the  doings  at  Washington,  and  talked  understand- 
ingly.  It  was  a  time  when  gixat  changes  were  going  on  in  the 
political  world,  and  when  the  people  were  thoroughly  inter- 
ested, as  never  before  nor  since.  When  I  say  the  people,  I 
mean  the  men  of  most  account  in  the  village ;  then,  as  now, 
there  were  those  of  little  account  in  anything. 

In  1848  came  the  famine  in  Ireland,  and  the  U.  S.  steam- 
ship "  Jamestown,"  loaded  with  provisions  and  commanded  by 
my  whilom  friend,  Capt,  Robert  Bennet  Forbes,  was  sent 
across  the  water  to  feed  the  starving  people.  This  was  the 
beginning  of  the  great  immigration  from  that  country  which 
has  continued  till  today,  bringing  into  our  town  many  good 
citizens  and  all  good  Roman  Catholics.  So  ends  my  reminis- 
cences of  the  "forties." 


Chapter  III.     In  the  "Fifties." 


HE  year  1850  will  be  remembered  as  that  of  the 
famous  "  Seventh  of  March  speech "  of  Daniel 
Webster ;  of  the  death  of  President  Taylor  on 
July  9  ;  of  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
Law  on  September  10,  and  of  its  approval  by 
President  Fillmore  on  September  13,  and  of  the  organization 
of  the  Coalition  party  in  the  State. 

The  first  caucus  of  the  new  party  in  town  was  held  in  the 
old  school-house  in  Middle  street,  and  Mr.  B.  F.  White  of 
South  Weymouth,  and  Major  Elias  Hunt  of  the  Landing,  were 
nominated  to  represent  the  town.  Mr.  White  had  been  a  Free 
Soiler,  and  Mr.  Hunt,  a  Democrat,  but  at  town-meeting  both 
were  chosen  Representatives.  At  this  town-meeting  there 
were  twenty-three  other  candidates,  but  Mr.  White  received 
>»  411  votes,  and  Major  Hunt  500. 

In  the  following  January  when  the  General  Court  assembled, 
a  United  States  Senator  was  to  be  chosen.  Charles  Sumner 
was  the  Coalition  candidate ;  Robert  C.  Winthrop  was  the 
candidate  of  the  Whigs  and  Hunker  Democrats.  For  this 
office  there  followed  a  struggle  from  January  14  to  April  27, 
185 1.  Sumner  was  elected,  having  on  the  twenty-fifth  and 
last  ballot  in  the  House,  193  votes,  the  exact  number  required 
for  a  choice. 


In  the  ''Fifties"  ,.!..,.  \9}. 

The  secret  ballot  was  used  on  the  last  vcrfihg;  eSfch "  meHibel- 
enclosing  his  in  an  envelope.  The  votes  cast  at  this  twenty- 
fifth  ballot  were  presented  to  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society,  where  they  were  preserved. 

In  the  year  185 1  Messrs.  C.  E.  &  R.  A.  Hunt  removed  their 
factory  from  Washington  Square  to  their  new  shop  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Front  and  Broad  streets.  There  my  father  was  always 
awaited  on  his  return  from  Boston  daily,  to  learn  of  him  how  the 
voting  stood.  My  father  was  tempted  by  many  good  suppers, 
wine  and  all  the  good  things,  to  change  his  vote.  Mr.  Caleb 
Stetson  of  Braintree,  also  a  member  of  the  General  Court,  did 
all  he  could  to  induce  him  to  change  his  vote,  but  in  vain, 
and  in  after  years  father  took  pride  in  his  twenty-five  votes  for 
Charles  Sumner. 

The  shop  of  Charles  E.  and  Richard  A.  Hunt  was  the  great 
gathering  place,  at  that  time,  for  those  interested  in  the  politi- 
cal world.  It  was  called  "Tammany  Hall,"  for  here  met  the 
men  who  for  years  shaped  the  politics  of  the  town.  Whom 
they  selected  for  an  office  was  elected.  Once,  I  remember, 
when  the  campaign  was  laid  out  and  their  men  selected,  how 
Mr.  Edward  Cushing  started  his  rounds  about  the  town  on  a 
missionary  tour.  It  was,  "You  go  for  our  man  and  we  will 
go  for  yours,"  and  "our  man  "  was  always  chosen. 

As  I  have  said  in  the  preceding  chapter,  Henry  Clay  was  a 
great  favorite  with  the  anti-slavery  Whigs ;  but  Webster  had 
many  friends  until  his  "  Seventh  of  March  speech."  From 
that  time  on,  nearly  all  of  them  were  alienated  from  him, 
because  of  the  stand  he  took. 

President  Taylor,  neither  Whig  nor  Democrat,  but  a  thor- 
oughly honest  man,  was  taken  as  a  candidate  for  his  avail- 
ability, being  a  successful  General ;  but  as  President  he  proved 
a  great  disappointment  to  the  South,  for  although  a  large  slave- 
holder himself,  he  showed  them  few  favors.  When  he  died 
he  was  lamented  by  both  the  Whigs  and  the  Democrats. 


102     '    '  '    '    "  Reminiscetices. 

<'■  <***,"'  •■     »  •■<>  '' \ 

'  FiHmore,"  succeeding  President  Taylor,  was  a  Whig  with  a 
southern  bias,  and  as  soon  as  he  became  President,  began  to 
work  for  the  next  presidential  campaign  by  catering  to  the 
southern  slave-holders.  After  the  passage  of  the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  his  approval  of  it  lost  him  many  friends  from  his 
party. 

There  was  nothing  that  had  stirred  the  North  up  to  that 
time  as  the  Fugitive  Slave  Bill  did  ;  and  yet  a  hundred  guns 
were  fired  on  Boston  Common,  and  a  great  meeting  was  held 
in  Faneuil  Hall  by  those  who  believed  this  bill  would  satisfy 
the  South.  Boston,  being  full  of  wealthy  mill  owners  who 
bought  their  cotton  from  the  South,  and  sold  their  cotton-cloth 
there,  was  ready  to  give  the  South  everything  to  keep  peace. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law  did  not  work  as  smoothly  as  its 
supporters  had  wished.  On  Feb.  15,  1851,  a  negro  named 
Shadrach,  employed  in  the  Cornhill  Coffee  House  in  Boston, 
was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  having  escaped  from  slavery. 
He  was  detained  in  the  United  States  Court-room  at  the  Court 
House.  A  mob  of  colored  men  broke  into  the  room  and  car- 
ried off  Shadrach,  who  soon  escaped  to  Canada  where  he  be- 
came a  free  man.  Of  this  event  Theodore  Parker  said, 
"  Shadrach  is  delivered  out  of  his  burning,  fiery  furnace  with- 
out the  smell  of  fire  on  his  garments." 

On  April  3,  Thomas  Sims  was  arrested  as  a  slave  who  had 
escaped  from  his  Georgia  owner.  He  was  confined  in  the 
Court  House  in  Boston,  from  which  he  was  taken  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  escorted  by  three  hundred  police,  and 
safely  put  aboard  a  vessel  that  took  him  to  Savannah. 

This  rendition  caused  intense  feeling.  On  the  day  that 
Sims  was  carried  off,  church  bells  were  tolled.  A  meeting 
was  held  on  Boston  Common,  where  Wendell  Phillips  spoke, 
and  in  the  evening  Theodore  Parker  spoke  in  Tremont  Temple. 

On  Friday,  Dec.  5,  1851,  the  Hungarian  patriot,  Kossuth, 
arrived  in  New  York  harbor,  coming  on   the   U.  S.  frigate 


In  the  ''Fifties^  103 

"Mississippi,"  provided  by  the  Government  to  convey  him 
and  his  stiite  to  this  country.  A  salute  of  twenty-one  guns 
and  an  address  of  welcome  greeted  him,  and  on  arriving  at 
Castle  Garden  one  hundred  thousand  people  welcomed  him. 
No  such  enthusiasm  had  been  seen  in  New  York  since  the 
landing  of  Lafayette  in  1824. 

On  Dec.  30  Kossuth  reached  Washington.  A  large  crowd 
awaited  his  arrival,  and  Webster,  then  Secretary  of  State, 
called  upon  him.  Of  Kossuth,  Webster  said  that  he  was  a 
gentleman  in  appearance  and  demeanor.  Afterwards  a  ban- 
quet was  held  in  honor  of  the  patriot,  and  Mr.  Webster  made 
a  speech  in  which  he  presented  a  strong  argument  for  the 
independence  of  Hungary.  Notwithstanding  the  enthusiasm 
with  which  Kossuth  had  at  first  been  received,  by  the  middle 
of  January,  1852,  the  excitement  had  wholly  died  down.  Kos- 
suth no  longer  appealed  for  intervention,  but  for  money.  He 
remained  in  this  country  until  July,  1852,  and  the  net  amount 
of  the  contributions  to  his  cause  was  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  His  name  so  filled  the  country  that  the 
Fugitive  Slave  Law  was  for  a  time  forgotten. 

In  1 85 1  and  1852  the  town  was  building  a  new  Town  Hall 
in  the  centre  of  the  town,  now  discarded.  This  hall  —  a  great, 
ugly  building  —  was,  however,  an  improvement  on  the  meeting- 
houses as  a  place  for  holding  the  town  meetings. 

In  the  fall  of  1852  were  held  the  political  Conventions  for 
nominating  the  President-to-be.  The  Democratic  Convention 
was  held  at  Baltimore  on  June  i.  Lewis  Cass,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  James  Buchanan  and  William  L.  Marcy  were  the 
prominent  candidates. 

Cass  was  a  son  of  New  England.  Going  West  in  early  life, 
he  became  Governor  of  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  Secretary 
of  War  under  President  Jackson,  Minister  to  France,  and  in 
1848  he  had  been  the  candidate  of  the  Democratic  party  for 
President. 


104  Reminiscences. 

Douglas  also  was  a  son  of  New  England ;  he  worked  on  the 
farm  in  summer  and  went  to  school  in  winter.  By  the  time 
he  was  twenty  he  had  worked  two  years  at  a  trade,  had  com- 
pleted a  course  at  an  academy,  and  had  begun  the  study  of 
law.  His  first  political  speech  gave  him  the  name  of  "The 
Little  Giant." 

James  Buchanan  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1791.  He 
had  a  fair  school  and  college  education,  was  a  Representative 
to  Congress  for  ten  years,  and  was  three  times  elected  Senator. 
Under  Polk  he  was  Secretary  of  State,  and  withal  a  gentleman 
of  refinement  and  courtly  manners. 

Marcy  was  a  shrewd  politician,  and  the  author  of  "  To  the 
victors  belong  the  spoils."  He  had  been  Judge,  United  States 
Senator  and  three  times  Governor  of  New  York,  where  he  was 
an  honored  citizen.  The  highest  mountain  peak  in  that  State 
bears  his  name,  and  serves  as  a  monument  to  his  memory. 
Under  Polk  he  was  Secretary  of  War. 

After  five  days,  thirty-four  ballots  had  been  cast,  and  there 
was  no  choice.  Then  P'ranklin  Pierce  came  into  the  field,  and 
on  the  forty-ninth  ballot  received  282  votes  to  six  for  all  others. 
He  was  a  New  Hampshire  man  and  in  his  forty-eighth  year. 
He  had  served  in  the  Legislature  four  years,  was  Representa- 
tive to  Congress  at  twenty-nine,  and  a  Senator  at  thirty-three, 
then  being  the  youngest  man  in  the  Senate.  He  served  as 
a  General  in  the  Mexican  War.  Of  him  Hawthorne,  his  best 
friend,  wrote  that  he  was  a  man  of  truth  and  honor,  and 
loved  his  family.  State  and  country. 

The  Whig  Convention  met  at  Baltimore,  June  16,  1852. 
The  candidates  were  Webster,  Fillmore,  and  General  Scott. 
At  this  time  everything  turned  on  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
and  the  platform  insisted  on  its  strict  enforcement.  General 
Scott  was  nominated  on  the  fifty-third  ballot.  He  was  a  Vir- 
ginian by  birth,  and  received  the  nomination  solely  on  account 
of  his  brilliant  campaign  in  Mexico. 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  105 

To  Webster,  his  defeat  was  the  eclipse  of  all  his  bright  hopes. 
How  strange  to  think  that  Daniel  Webster  should  sigh  in  vain 
for  the  position  that  so  many  mediocre  men  have  attained ! 

The  noisy  rejoicings  over  the  results  of  the  Convention 
greatly  disturbed  Henry  Clay  as  he  lay  on  his  death-bed  in 
Washington,  where  he  died  June  29th.  As  he  had  been  loved 
so  was  he  mourned. 

The  Free-soilers  with  their  platform :  "  Free  soil,  free 
speech,  free  labor  and  free  men,"  nominated  Hale  and  Julien 
in  August. 

Pierce  was  chosen  President,  having  254  electoral  votes  to 
42  for  General  Scott,  and  the  Free  Soil  party  casting  less  votes 
than  in  1848.  This  election  was  the  death-blow  to  the  Whig 
party,  and  it  never  entered  another  presidential  campaign. 

In  May,  1852,  while  driving  in  Marshfield,  Mr.  Webster  was 
thrown  from  his  carriage.  The  shock  was  great,  and  this  physi- 
cal injury,  followed  by  his  defeat  at  Baltimore,  preyed  upon  his 
health  and  mind.  In  July  he  came  from  Washington  to  Bos- 
ton, where  he  was  welcomed  by  a  great  public  meeting  on 
Boston  Common,  when  the  Weymouth  Band  did  the  escort 
duty  for  the  Independent  Cadets. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  Webster,  and  I  well  re- 
member how  I  and  all  the  Band  were  impressed  with  his 
solemn,  grand  appearance.  We  were  close  by  the  stand  where 
he  spoke,  and  I  now  seem  to  see  him  in  his  blue  dress-coat 
with  bright  buttons,  and  buff  vest,  a  figure  never  to  be  forgot- 
ten. In  August  he  went  to  Washington,  but  on  September  8 
returned  to  Marshfield  again. 

It  was  the  fortune  of  our  Weymouth  Band  to  be  the  escort. 
Mr.  John  Wild,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  was  living  in 
Duxbury,  and,  through  my  old  friend  White,  engaged  us.  We 
met  Webster  at  the  station  in  Duxbury,  and  a  procession 
being  formed,  marched  to  his  farm  in  Marshfield,  where  a 
great  number  of  the  people  about  had  gathered.     It  seems 


io6  Reminiscences. 

but  yesterday  that  I  saw  him  welcoming  the  folks  from  a  hay- 
wagon.  At  this  time  he  was  a  sick  man,  and  on  the  20th  of 
September  he  went  to  Boston  for  the  last  time.  He  died  at 
Marshfield,  Oct.  24,  and  his  funeral  took  place  Friday,  Oct. 
29,  1852.  Thousands  flocked  to  Marshfield  to  do  him  honor. 
Later  there  was  a  great  funeral  procession  in  Boston,  when 
again  the  Band  did  escort  duty  for  the  Cadets. 

March  4th,  1853,  Franklin  Pierce  was  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent, He  was  the  youngest  man  who  had  then  taken  the 
presidential  oath.  He  did  not  read  his  address,  but  spoke 
without  manuscript  or  notes,  in  a  distinct  voice  and  a  graceful 
manner.  In  his  address  he  alluded  to  the  death  of  his  child, 
a  bright  boy  of  thirteen,  by  a  railroad  accident,  which  hap- 
pened in  the  early  part  of  January  while  travelling  with  his 
father.  Some  Whig  journals  criticized  that  allusion  as  a  trick 
of  the  orator  to  awaken  personal  interest  before  unfolding  his 
public  policy.  Cheers  and  noise  of  cannon  greeted  the  Presi- 
dent when  he  closed  his  address,  typical  of  the  joy  of  the 
Democrats  on  their  restoration  to  power. 

Upon  the  inauguration  of  Pierce,  the  removal  of  the  Whigs 
from  office  commenced.  Among  these  was  Mr.  Asa  B.  Wales, 
who,  when  his  four  years  were  finished,  was  removed,  and 
Mr.  Elijah  F.  Hall  was  appointed  to  succeed  him  as  Post- 
master. As  I  remember,  the  people  of  the  village  were  well 
satisfied  with  the  election  of  Pierce,  the  Democratic  party 
being  in  the  ascendancy.  The  Democrats  who  had  voted  for 
Sumner  in  the  coalition  of  the  previous  year,  generally  voted 
for  Pierce.  In  March,  1853,  a  grand  ball  was  given  in  the 
new  Town  Hall  to  celebrate  his  election.  Whigs,  Democrats 
and  Free-Soilers  all  attended  it. 

Hawthorne,  who  had  been  removed  from  the  Salem  Custom 
House  by  President  Taylor,  was  a  great  friend  of  President 
Pierce.  As  Hawthorne  was  our  favorite  New  England  writer, 
he  brought  President  Pierce  into  favor  with  many  by  his  cam- 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  107 

paign  biography  of  Pierce.  Upon  his  removal  from  the  Custom 
House  Hawthorne  said,  "  Nor  was  it  without  something  like 
regret  and  shame  that  I  saw  my  own  chances  of  retaining  office 
to  be  better  than  those  of  my  Democratic  brethren  ;  but  who 
can  see  an  inch  into  futurity,  beyond  his  nose ;  my  own  head 
was  the  first  to  fall.  The  moment  a  man's  head  drops  off  is 
seldom  or  never  the  most  agreeable  of  his  life." 

Pierce  named  his  friend  Hawthorne  as  Consul  to  Liverpool. 
At  first  he  shrank  from  accepting  the  office  from  his  friend,  as 
it  seemed  too  much  like  receiving  pay  out  of  the  public  purse, 
for  his  book,  and  argument  was  needed  to  change  his  mind. 

The  loss  of  his  place  in  the  Salem  Custom  House  impelled 
Hawthorne  to  write  "The  Scarlet  Letter,"  and  the  consulate 
gave  him  the  opportunity  to  visit  Europe,  and  enabled  him  to 
write  "  Our  Old  Home." 

In  1853  the  State  Convention  for  revising  the  Constitution 
was  convened.  From  this  place  Mr.  Charles  E.  Hunt  was  a 
member.  Of  that  Convention  the  late  ex-Governor  Boutwell 
said  that  it  was  the  ablest  body  of  men  that  ever  met  in  Mas- 
sachusetts. Rufus  Choate  was  no  doubt  the  ablest  man  of 
them  all,  and  Nathaniel  P.  Banks  was  the  president. 

After  Mr.  Thomas  Ellis,  the  old  Tufts  &  Whittemore  store 
was  occupied  by  Noyes  &  Dowse,  two  young  men.  They 
continued  :he  business  of  Mr.  Ellis  for  several  years,  when 
they  were  succeeded  by  Jackman  &  Goodhue.  I  best  remem- 
ber Mr.  Noyes  as  a  member  of  the  Weymouth  Band.  His 
successor,  Mr.  Jackman,  after  being  a  while  with  Goodhue,  re- 
moved to  Boston,  where  he  formed  the  company  of  Jackman  & 
Merrill.  As  I  remember  him,  he  was  convivial,  a  good  singer, 
and  prominent  in  the  Masonic  Order. 

Noting  the  removal  of  the  old  hotel,  puts  me  in  mind  of 
the  ice-house  under  it.  Mr.  Asa  B.  Wales  was  the  first  in  the 
village  to  store  ice  for  summer  use,  and  kept  it  in  the  cellar 
under  the  hotel.     At  that  time  little  ice  was  used;  it  was  a 


io8  Reminiscences. 

luxury,  and  not  as  to-day  a  necessity.  Milk  and  butter  were 
kept  cool  by  hanging  in  the  well.  Mr.  Wales  had  a  smoke- 
house, where  he  cured  and  smoked  shoulders  and  hams  of 
pork.  Col.  Abraham  Thayer  had  a  smoke-house  also,  where 
herring  from  Weymouth  Herring  Brook  were  cured  and 
smoked.  Later,  Capt.  Peter  Lane  went  into  the  ice  business, 
his  sons  delivering  the  ice  from  his  ice-house  near  the  Univer- 
salist  Church. 

When  Mr.  David  Hunt  went  to  Boston,  his  grocery  busi- 
ness was  bought  by  Mr.  Otis  Smith ;  shortly  after,  a  company 
was  formed  and  the  store  was  called  the  "  Union  Store."  The 
neighbors  about  had  a  share  in  it,  and  having  a  man  to  pur- 
chase the  goods  and  a  storekeeper  who  was  paid  a  salary,  the 
goods  were  sold  at  a  profit  sufficient  to  pay  expenses.  Mr. 
Otis  Hollis  was  the  storekeeper,  and  the  "  Union  Store  "  was 
a  success  for  a  time,  but  after  a  while  the  shareholders,  get- 
ting tired  of  the  thing,  sold  out  to  Mr.  Hollis.  The  way  of 
keeping  the  store  was  so  different  from  that  of  to-day  that  I 
will  tell  of  it. 

Mr.  Hollis  would  come  to  his  store  at  any  time  from  seven 
to  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  he  usually  found  a  num- 
ber waiting,  but  he  did  not  hurry.  At  noon,  when  the  clock 
struck  twelve,  the  store  was  closed,  never  minding  if  a  cus- 
tomer was  at  the  door ;  his  dinner  hour  had  come,  and  he 
would  not  go  back,  and  so  it  was  the  customer  who  was 
always  waiting  on  the  storekeeper. 

After  a  while  Mr.  Edward  Chipman  bought  out  this  store. 
He  was  very  unlike  Mr.  Hollis,  being  an  accommodating, 
pleasant  man.  He  was  a  great  lover  of  music,  singing  and 
playing  the  guitar  finely.  After  his  store  was  closed  at  night, 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  hear  him  sing  and  play  the  old  "  planta- 
tion songs"  that  were  all  in  vogue  at  that  time.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  old  store,  with  its  settee,  and  the  blocks  of  wood 
to  crack  shellbarks  on.     After  dinner  some  of  the  neighbors 


In  the  ''Fifties^  lO^ 

would  come  in,  and  comfortably  arrange  themselves  on  the 
settee  and  take  a  nap.  How  unlike  the  drive  and  hurry  of 
to-day ! 

In  the  early  "  fifties  "  another  "  Union  Store  "  in  Washing- 
ton Square  was  kept  by  the  late  Mr.  Martin  K.  Pratt.  He 
was  there  many  years,  and  then  he  kept  the  newspaper  store 
until  a  few  years  ago  when  he  retired.  Up  to  the  time  he  re- 
tired there  had  been  no  one  in  the  village  so  long  in  active 
business  as  Mr.  Pratt,  and  lately  going  to  his  pleasant  home  I 
found  him  as  lively  as  a  boy,  and  full  of  reminiscences. 

In  1850,  1851,  and  1852  the  business  of  the  village  had  little 
changed  since  the  "forties."  Oilman  Thompson  was  still  doing 
the  expressing.  Thomas  W.  Tilden  and  Peter  Gushing  were 
running  the  livery  stable.  The  shoe  business  was  on  the  in- 
crease. Engaged  in  it  at  this  time  were  Adoram  Clapp  in 
Washington  Square,  and  Elias  Richards. 

Atherton  N.  Hunt,  of  the  firm  of  A.  N.  Hunt  &  Co.,  had 
removed  from  the  Deacon  Hunt  place  to  Front  street,  where 
his  people  have  since  lived.  Darius  Smith  moved  into  the 
Deacon  Hunt  house,  and  occupied  the  "  Old  Light  House " 
for  his  manufactory.  R.  E.  &  C.  Loud  were  doing  an  increas- 
ing business.  Stephen  Nash  had  now  his  brother  Erastus  with 
him,  under  the  name  of  S.  W.  &  E.  Nash. 

In  185 1  W.  H.  Chipman  was  manufacturing  boots,  also 
Thomas  Colson  on  Summer  street.  California  was  now  in 
the  market  for  boots  and  shoes,  at  prices  that  paid  the  manu- 
facturer well.  This  business  was  increasing  each  year.  On 
the  wharves  there  had  been  little  change  from  the  "forties," 
though  the  coal  and  grain  trade  were  on  the  increase.  Where 
coal  was  little  used  in  the  "  thirties  "  it  was  now  in  general  use. 
The  lumber  was  still  coming  from  down  east. 

In  the  shoe  shops  the  sewing  machine  had  come,  but  there 
was  little  use  of  other  machinery,  and  the  business  was  carried 
on  in  the  same  leisurely  way  as  in  the  past. 


I  lO  Reminiscences. 

In  the  shop  of  A.  N.  Hunt  &  Co.  the  question  of  politics 
was  always  at  the  front  and  continually  talked  over.  Aside 
from  Charles  Sumner,  who  was  regarded  by  the  Free-soilers 
as  far  above  anyone  else,  came  Henry  Wilson,  the  Natick 
cobbler.  Without  Henry  Wilson,  Sumner  could  never  have 
been  chosen  to  the  United  States  Senate,  Wilson  did  the 
political  work  needed,  and  no  one  did  more  to  build  up  the 
Republican  party  than  he  ;  but  Sumner  held  himself  aloof  from 
political  work. 

One  of  the  important  causes  of  the  success  of  the  Repub- 
lican party  was  the  publication  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin,"  which 
first  came  out  as  a  serial  in  the  "  National  Era,"  an  anti-slavery 
paper  published  at  Washington.  The  story  attracting  little 
attention,  it  was  published  in  book-form  in  March,  1852,  and 
proved  to  be  the  most  successful  novel  ever  written.  On  the 
first  day  of  publication  3,000  copies  were  sold,  and  within  a 
short  time  over  300,000  copies  were  sold  in  our  country. 
Within  the  year  it  was  translated  into  twenty  different  lan- 
guages, and  the  authoress,  Harriet  Beecher  Stowe,  became  the 
most  famous  woman  in  America. 

The  London  Exhibition  of  185 1  suggested  the  "World's 
Fair,"  which  was  held  in  New  York  in  1853.  Here  the  build- 
ing called  the  *'  Crystal  Palace,"  built  of  glass  and  of  most 
elegant  design,  was  erected.  Of  that  building  the  most  grace- 
ful commentator  on  passing  events  wrote  :  "  Beneath  the  dome 
of  Crystal  Palace  in  cheerful  rivalry  meet  all  the  nations,  as 
of  old  kings  met  upon  a  field  of  Cloth  of  Gold." 

In  September  of  this  year  I  was  married,  and  made  a  jour- 
ney to  New  York  to  see  this  "  World's  Fair."  On  my  return 
to  Weymouth,  the  wharves  that,  when  I  left  the  village,  were 
covered  with  buildings  and  lumber,  were  in  ashes,  having  been 
completely  burned  over.  The  old  steam  mill  that  I  had  known 
so  long  went  with  the  rest.  At  the  time  it  was  thought  that 
the  fire  caught  from  the  crew  of  one  of  the  coasters,  then  oc- 


In  the  ''Fifties^  in 

cupying  one  of  the  empty  sheds  on  the  wharves.  This  fire 
was  by  far  the  largest  that  Weymouth  had  seen,  sweeping 
everything  from  the  railroad  depot  to  the  mill. 

In  the  "  fifties  "  it  was  customary  to  have  a  course  of  lec- 
tures each  winter.  These  were  gotten  up  by  subscription,  and 
usually  given  in  the  Union  Church.  Many  noted  men  were 
engaged  in  lecturing  in  those  years.  Of  these  I  remember 
Bayard  Taylor,  a  fine,  handsome  man  and  a  poet  of  note,  who 
gave  a  lecture  on  his  travels  in  the  East :  Dr.  J.  V.  C.  Smith, 
former  Mayor  of  Boston,  gave  a  lecture  on  the  same  subject  : 
Dr.  Ezra  S.  Gannett  gave  a  lecture  on  "  Conversation."  I  can 
now  see  the  old  gentleman  limping  up  the  aisle  to  the  pulpit. 
His  lecture  was  so  dry,  or  scholarly,  that  few  were  interested, 
and  the  folks  when  going  out  of  the  church  afterwards  kept 
very  quiet,  no  one  daring  to  express  an  opinion,  for  fear  of 
showing  his  ignorance  to  his  neighbor. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  lectures  was  by  Professor  Lowell 
Mason  on  the  "  History  of  Music."  His  idea  was  for  all  the 
congregation  to  sing  in  unison,  and  my  impression  is  that  he 
tried  exercises  in  the  old  church.  Mr.  A.  N.  Hunt,  president 
of  the  choir,  was  a  great  enthusiast  over  Mr.  Mason. 

Many  of  these  subscription  lectures  were  exceedingly  dull 
and  dry,  but  all  in  the  village  went,  as  no  one  wanted  to  be 
thought  other  than  literary ;  but  the  lectures  in  which  all  were 
interested  were  those  given  by  Garrison,  Phillips,  and  Theodore 
Parker.  The  theme  of  Garrison  and  Phillips  was  always  slav- 
ery, while  Parker  was  not  confined  to  one  subject ;  he  lectured 
on  many,  and  was  always  interesting  and  instructive.  I  have 
forgotten  to  mention  Phillips's  famous  lecture  on  the  "  Lost 
Arts,"  which  he  delivered  all  over  the  country. 

In  1854  occurred  the  Crimean  war  between  the  French  and 
English  allies,  and  the  Russians,  and  the  folks  in  our  village 
were  much  interested  in  the  siege  of  Sebastopol.  Our  people 
were  generally  in  sympathy  with  the  Russians.     The  Crimean 


112  Reminiscences, 

war  will  be  remembered  from  Tennyson's  famous  poem,  "  The 
Charge  of  the  Light  Brigade  "  and  its  lines 

"  Oh,  the  wild  charge  they  made ! 
All  the  world  wondered." 

On  March  3,  1854,  Douglas  made  his  great  speech  in  the 
United  States  Senate  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill ;  the  prin- 
ciples proposed  were  that  "  Congress  should  neither  legislate 
slavery  into  any  Territories  or  States  nor  out  of  the  same,  but 
that  the  people  should  be  left  free  to  regulate  their  domestic 
concerns  in  their  own  way,  subject  only  to  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States." 

This  bill  was  in  violation  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  but 
Douglas  spoke  upon  it  till  daybreak,  when  the  vote  taken  was 
thirty-seven  in  favor  and  fourteen  against.  The  measure  was 
called  popular  or  squatter  sovereignty. 

On  Monday,  May  22,  the  House  passed  the  bill  by  113  yeas 
to  100  nays,  and  on  May  30  it  was  approved  by  the  President. 
The  bill  sealed  the  doom  of  the  Whigs,  and  caused  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Republican  party.  This  famous  bill  was  the  all-en- 
grossing theme,  interesting  all  in  the  village. 

On  May  24,  Anthony  Burns,  a  negro,  who  had  escaped  from 
slavery  some  three  months  before,  was  arrested  in  Boston. 
He  was  taken  to  the  United  States  Court-room  for  exam- 
ination before  Commissioner  Loring.  As  Richard  H.  Dana, 
Jr.,  chanced  to  pass  the  court-house  at  about  nine  o'clock,  he 
saw  what  was  going  on,  went  in  and  offered  Burns  his  pro- 
fessional services.  Burns  declined  them,  saying,  "  They  will 
swear  to  me  and  get  me  back,  and  I  shall  fare  worse  if  I  resist." 
Meanwhile  Theodore  Parker  entered  the  court-room  and  had 
a  conference  with  Burns.  Parker  told  him  he  was  a  minister, 
and  had  been  appointed  the  special  pastor  of  fugitive  slaves, 
and  asked  Burns  if  he  did  not  want  counsel.  Burns  said,  "I 
shall  have  to  go  back ;  my  master  knows  me,  his  agent  knows 


In  the  '' Fifties y  113 

me ;  if  I  must  go  back  I  want  to  go  as  easily  as  I  can ; "  but 
Parker  said,  "  It  will  do  no  harm  to  make  a  defence."  "  Well," 
said  Burns,  "do  as  you  are  a  mind  to."  He  seemed  stupefied 
with  fear. 

On  Friday  morning,  the  26th,  a  call  was  issued  for  a  meeting 
at  Faneuil  Hall  that  evening.  A  crowd  gathered,  and  were  ad- 
dressed by  Phillips  and  Parker  ;  amid  great  excitement,  Phillips 
moved  that  they  adjourn  to  Court  Square,  where  a  mob  of 
negroes  was  attempting  to  rescue  Burns. 

There  they  found  a  small  party  under  the  lead  of  Thomas 
Went  worth  Higginson,  who,  with  a  stick  of  timber  used  as  a 
battering-ram,  was  attempting  to  break  down  one  of  the  doors 
of  the  court  house.  It  became  an  angry  crowd  of  two  thous- 
and, bent  on  the  rescue  of  Burns.  A  breach  was  made  in  the 
door,  but  the  place  was  defended. 

In  the  meantime  one  of  the  police  was  killed,  and  Higginson 
wounded  by  a  sabre  cut.  Several  were  arrested,  after  which 
no  further  attempt  was  made  to  break  into  the  building.  This 
attack  enabled  the  Marshal  to  appear  as  a  vindicator  of  the  law. 
He  called  out  two  companies  of  United  States  troops,  and  re- 
ported his  action  to  the  President,  who  answered,  "  Your  con- 
duct is  approved." 

On  June  2d,  after  the  trial.  Commissioner  Loring  adjudged 
the  negro  to  his  owner.  On  the  day  Burns  was  sent  out  of 
Boston,  the  town  was  full  of  people  who  had  come  from  all 
parts  of  New  England,  and  a  large  body  of  police  and  twenty- 
two  companies  of  soldiers  guarded  the  streets  through  which 
Burns  passed. 

The  procession  was  made  up  of  one  artillery  battalion,  one 
platoon  of  marines,  125  police  guarding  the  fugitive,  and  three 
platoons  of  marines  with  a  field  piece.  Windows  along  the 
line  of  march  were  draped  in  mourning.  From  one  window  on 
the  corner  of  State  street  a  black  coffin  was  suspended,  on 
which  were  the  words,  "  The  Funeral  of  Liberty." 


114  Rem  iniscences. 

The  procession  was  witnessed  by  50,000  people,  who  hissed 
and  groaned  as  it  passed  by.  The  fugitive  was  marched  to  the 
end  of  Long  Wharf,  and  was  soon  on  a  revenue  cutter  on  his 
way  to  Virginia.  I  was  standing  on  State  street  as  Burns  was 
taken  off,  and  shall  never  forget  the  wild  excitement  of  those 
times. 

The  political  movement  in  1854  one  can  never  forget.  The 
"  Know-Nothing "  party  was  a  great  secret  society,  covering 
every  State ;  secret  lodges  were  formed  everywhere,  with  pass- 
words, grips,  signs  and  solemn  initiation.  The  candidate  for 
the  first  degree,  with  his  right  hand  on  the  open  Bible,  took  an 
oath  of  secresy.  He  was  considered  a  proper  candidate  if  he 
were  twenty-one,  believed  in  God,  was  born  in  the  United 
States,  and  if  neither  himself,  his  parents,  nor  his  wife,  were 
Roman  Catholics,  but  had  been  reared  under  Protestant  influ- 
ences. He  was  next  conducted  to  an  inner  chamber  where  on 
a  raised  platform  sat  the  worthy  president.  There,  with  right 
hand  on  the  Bible  and  left  raised  toward  heaven,  the  candidate 
took  the  oath  of  secresy  and  swore  to  vote  for  no  man  other 
than  a  Protestant  American  citizen.  The  pass-word  and  grips 
were  then  given  and  explained  to  the  new  member ;  he  was 
then  taught  the  challenge :  meeting  a  brother  he  must  ask, 
"  What  time  }  "  The  answer  would  be  given,  "  Time  for  work." 
Next  he  would  say,  "  Are  you }  "  and  the  answer  would  come, 
"  We  are." 

The  president  of  the  Lodge  then  lectured  on  the  dangers  that 
threatened  the  country  from  foreign-born  and  Roman  Catholics. 
"  A  sense  of  danger  has  struck  the  heart  of  the  nation,"  he  said, 
"and  this  Order  has  been  devised  as  a  means  of  advancing 
America  and  American  interests  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the 
other  of  checking  and  subverting  the  deadly  plans  of  the 
Roman  Catholics." 

The  great  mystery  was  the  name  of  the  organization ;  this 
the  president  alone  could  give.     At  the  proper  time  he  sol- 


In  the  ''Fifties^  115 

emnly  declared,  "  Brothers,  you  are  now  members  in  full  fel- 
lowship with  the  Supreme  Order  of  the  Star-Spangled  Banner." 
The  official  name  was  "  The  American  Party."  When  one  in- 
quired of  a  member  of  the  party  what  its  principles  were,  the 
answer  was,  "  I  know  nothing,"  and  from  this  the  party  was 
named  in  derision,  "  The  Know-Nothings." 

In  our  town  the  Order  met  at  the  Town  Hall,  and  I  remem- 
ber Mr.  Abner  Holbrook  and  Mr.  Daniel  Dyer  as  being  very 
prominent.  They  were  the  candidates  nominated  for  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  and  were  chosen  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote,  and 
were  re-elected  the  second  year. 

The  year  1854  was  a  year  of  lawlessness  and  excitement; 
riots  were  frequent ;  women  would  raid  bar-rooms,  break  the 
glasses,  and  smash  the  casks  of  whiskey.  At  an  open-air  cele- 
bration of  the  Abolitionists  in  Framingham,  Garrison  burned 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  At  the  Washington 
Monument  in  the  District  of  Columbia  a  mob  broke  in  a  shed 
and  destroyed  a  beautiful  block  of  marble,  sent  from  Rome  by 
the  Pope  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory  of  General  Washington. 
A  self-styled  "Angel  Gabriel"  led  a  crowd  which  broke  the 
windows  and  tore  down  the  cross  from  the  Catholic  Church  in 
Chelsea.  The  police  and  militia  were  continually  called  upon 
to  suppress  riots  caused  by  crazy  fanatics  in  this  "  Know- 
Nothing  "  time. 

In  the  November  election  an  attempt  was  made  to  form  a 
Republican  party.  A  Convention  was  held,  and  Charles  Sum- 
ner made  a  speech,  and  Henry  Wilson  was  nominated  for 
Governor.  The  Whigs  would  not  give  up  their  organization, 
but  had  their  Convention,  nominating  Emory  Washburn  for 
Governor.  The  "Know-Nothings"  put  Henry  J.  Gardner 
into  the  field.  The  contest  came  between  the  Whigs  and  the 
"Know-Nothings,"  and  the  Whigs  were  badly  beaten.  Gard- 
ner had  more  than  fifty  thousand  majority  over  Washburn. 
All  of  the  Congressmen  elected  were  of  the  new  party,  but 


1 16  Reminiscences. 

all  were  anti-slavery  men.  The  General  Court,  composed 
almost  wholly  of  the  "American  party,"  chose  Henry  Wilson 
to  the  United  States  Senate. 

Having  been  refused  admittance  to  one  "  Know-Nothing  " 
Lodge,  but  persisting,  Henry  Wilson  afterwards  succeeded  in 
being  regularly  initiated  into  another.  Horace  Greeley,  the 
editor  of  the  "New  York  Tribune,"  was  foremost  in  the  for- 
mation of  the  Republican  party.  He  was  anti-slavery  and 
prohibitionist,  but  strongly  opposed  to  Know-Nothingism. 
The  "Tribune"  was  an  authority  in  the  "Tammany  Hall  "  of 
our  village,  and  Greeley  was  always  being  quoted.  With  the 
"Tribune"  was  the  "New  York  Independent,"  which  was 
always  taken  by  Mr.  A.  N.  Hunt.  In  it  Henry  Ward  Beech- 
er's  political  writings  appeared,  and  he  and  the  "Independent" 
were  also  opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  "Know-Nothing" 
party. 

I  remember  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  after  Gardner  was  chosen 
Governor,  the  town  of  Dorchester  celebrated  the  day,  and 
Edward  Everett  delivered  an  oration.  His  subject  was  "Dor- 
chester in  1630,  in  1776,  and  in  1855."  As  usual,  the  Wey- 
mouth Band  played  for  the  Boston  Cadets.  Meeting  them  in 
Boston,  we  rode  in  carriages  to  Dorchester,  where  the  Cadets 
did  the  escort  for  the  Governor,  then  went  from  the  Governor's 
house  to  the  tent  where  Mr.  Everett  delivered  his  oration,  and 
then  escorted  him  back  to  the  Governor's  house.  In  the 
evening  Governor  Gardner  entertained,  and  our  Band  was 
stationed  in  the  summer-house  in  his  garden,  where  we  per- 
formed at  times  during  the  evening.  Nine  members  of  the 
old  Band  who  played  that  night  were  still  living  in  1902. 

Charles  Francis  Adams  says,  "that  in  1858  the  'Know- 
Nothing  '  deluge  had  in  a  great  degree  subsided,  having  in 
Massachusetts  brought  to  the  political  surface  absolutely  noth- 
ing but  scum  and  driftwood,"  According  to  Adams,  the  great 
majority  of  the  people  was  scum  and  driftwood. 


In  the  ''Fifties"  117 

In  1855  the  "Underground  Railroad,"  composed  of  friends 
and  houses  of  refuge  for  escaping  negroes,  was  at  work  carry- 
ing slaves  from  the  South  to  freedom  in  Canada.  The  houses 
were  called  "stations,"  and  the  sympathizing  white  man  a 
"conductor,"  or  "station-keeper."  If  the  negro  reached  the 
first  station,  he  was  very  sure  to  reach  his  destination  in  Can- 
ada.    Samuel  J.  May  was  one  of  the  managers. 

A  United  States  Marshal  in  Boston  said  to  James  Freeman 
Clarke,  "When  I  was  Marshal  and  they  tried  to  make  me 
find  their  slaves,  I  would  say,  '  I  don't  know  where  your  nig- 
gers are,  but  will  see  if  I  can  find  out ; '  so  I  would  go  to  Gar- 
rison's office  and  ask  him  to  find  such  and  such  a  negro,  or  tell 
me  where  he  is.  The  next  I  knew  the  negro  would  be  in 
Canada." 

From  1850  to  1856  something  like  a  thousand  escaped  each 
year,  while  only  two  hundred  were  arrested  and  taken  South. 

August  23  and  24,  1854,  a  great  Fair  and  sale  was  held  at 
the  old  Governor  Winslow  place  in  Marshfield.  Its  object  was 
to  raise  money  to  repair  and  improve  the  Winslow  Burying 
Ground,  where  Daniel  Webster  had  been  buried.  The  Wey- 
mouth Band  was  engaged  for  the  occasion.  This  was  a  pleas- 
ant time.  Messrs.  White,  Bowditch,  Chipman,  and  myself 
went  together  in  a  carriage  with  a  pair  of  horses,  only  stopping 
by  the  wayside  and  having  lunch,  with  a  bottle  of  sherry  which 
was  contributed  by  Mr.  White.  At  that  time  I  thought  the 
use  of  sherry  a  dissipation. 

The  presiding  genius  of  the  Fair  was  Mrs.  Fletcher  Web- 
ster, wife  of  the  son  of  Daniel  Webster,  who  as  Colonel  of  the 
1 2th  Mass.  Regiment  lost  his  life  in  the  Civil  War.  Mrs. 
Webster  was  a  large,  fine-looking  woman,  and  was  the  centre 
of  attraction. 

The  old  Governor  Winslow  house  was  full  of  relics  of  the 
olden  time,  and  was  wonderfully  interesting.  Many  admirers 
of  Webster,  anxious  to  honor  his  memory,  came  from  Boston 


1 1 8  Reminiscences. 

to  this  fair.  The  Band  stopped  with  Mr.  Hatch,  in  a  queer 
old-fashioned  country  house. 

In  the  autumn  of  1854  Mr.  Charles  E.  Hunt  and  myself 
went  to  Hingham,  where  we  took  the  first  degree  in  Masonry 
in  the  Old  Colony  Lodge.  The  Lodge-room  was  down  by 
Hingham  Cove,  over  the  tin-shop  of  Mr.  Enos  Loring.  Mr. 
Marshall  Lincoln  was  Master ;  Bela  Whiton,  Senior  Warden ; 
John  P.  Lovell,  Junior  Warden,  and  L  Bassett,  Jr.,  Secretary. 
On  the  23d  of  May,  1855,  we  took  our  third  degree,  and 
Winslow  Lewis  was  at  that  time  Grand  Master.  Marshall 
Lincoln  was  a  gentleman  of  the  olden  school,  and  John  P. 
Lovell  in  after  years  became  one  of  my  best  friends. 

Soon  after  that,  Orphan's  Hope  Lodge  was  reorganized  in 
East  Weymouth,  receiving  the  old  charter  that  had  been  sur- 
rendered in  anti-Masonic  times.  When  the  Lodge  was  insti- 
tuted in  East  Weymouth,  many  new  members  from  the 
Landing  were  made,  and  it  was  always  a  pleasant  time  when 
the  monthly  meeting  came  around,  as  all  went  together  in  an 
omnibus.  Of  those,  I  remember  Charles  E.  Hunt,  Richard  A. 
Hunt,  and  E.  Atherton  Hunt,  my  brother  Eben  Hunt,  Thomas 
and  George  Porter,  Mr.  Anderson,  the  school  teacher,  and 
Mr.  James  Bates,  then  with  Joseph  Loud  &  Co.  Of  that 
happy  party  that  went  to  the  Lodge  in  its  early  days,  none  but 
myself  is  living. 

Feb.  2,  1856,  on  the  one  hundred  and  thirty-third  ballot, 
Nathaniel  P.  Banks  was  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  for  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress.  Banks  was 
a  self-educated  and  a  self-made  man.  He  had  worked  as  a 
bobbin-boy  in  a  factory,  and  afterwards  as  a  machinist.  He 
had  less  genius  for  mechanics  than  for  rhetoric,  in  which  he 
gained  practice  by  delivering  temperance  lectures.  He  had 
tried  the  stage,  playing  before  a  Boston  audience.  To  the 
previous  Congress  he  had  been  elected  as  a  Democrat,  and 
was  chosen  to  the  present  House  as  a  **  Know  Nothing."     In 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  119 

1855  he  abandoned  that  party  and  presided  over  the  Repub- 
lican Convention  of  Massachusetts. 

The  election  of  Banks  as  Speaker  was  regarded  as  a  great 
triumph  for  the  new  Republican  party,  and  I  remember,  when 
the  news  came,  there  was  quite  a  celebration  in  Washington 
Square.  This  was  my  first  appearance  in  public  as  a  pyro- 
technist, as  I  made  the  fireworks  used  on  that  occasion.  There 
was  speech-making,  too. 

Banks  proved  one  of  the  best  Speakers  the  House  had 
ever  known,  and  his  election  was  a  victory  of  freedom  over 
slavery.  The  new  party,  taking  the  name  Republican,  was 
not  liked  by  their  opponents,  the  Democrats,  as  it  seemed  like 
stealing  their  thunder,  for  the  Republican  party  of  Jefferson's 
time  had  been  the  forerunner  of  their  own  ;  to  distinguish 
this  new  party  from  the  old,  they  called  it  the  "  Black  Repub- 
lican" party,  because  of  its  connection  with  the  cause  of  the 
negro. 

On  Feb.  22  the  "American"  party  nominated  Millard  Fill- 
more for  President,  and  Andrew  J.  Donelson,  of  Tennessee, 
for  Vice-President. 

The  Democratic  Convention  met  at  Cincinnati,  June  2. 
The  contest  was  between  Buchanan  and  Douglas.  On  the 
sixteenth  ballot  Douglas  withdrew,  and  Buchanan  was  nomi- 
nated by  a  unanimous  vote.  John  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Ken- 
tucky, was  chosen  as  their  candidate  for  Vice-President. 

On  June  17  the  Republicans  met  in  Philadelphia,  and  on 
the  first  ballot  John  C.  Fremont  received  all  but  thirty-eight 
votes,  and  William  L.  Dayton  was  nominated  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. On  the  informal  ballot,  preceding  this  nomination, 
Abraham  Lincoln  received  no  votes.  Fremont  was  the  first 
Republican  candidate  for  the  Presidency.  From  his  skill  and 
endurance  as  an  explorer,  he  was  called  the  "  Pathfinder." 
His  career  appealed  to  the  voters,  and  his  adventures  excited 
their  admiration.     Besides,  Fremont  had  married  Jessie  Ben- 


1 20  Reminiscences. 

ton,  the  daughter  of  Senator  Thomas  H.Benton,  and  her  devo- 
tion and  their  romantic  marriage  crowned  his  heroic  exploits. 
To  the  people  Fremont  was  an  ideal  candidate. 

In  November,  Buchanan  was  chosen  President,  having  re- 
ceived 174  electoral  votes,  Fremont  114,  and  Fillmore  the 
eight  votes  of  Maryland.  This  was  the  liveliest  campaign  the 
village  had  seen,  not  excepting  the  Harrison  campaign  of 
1840. 

In  looking  over  the  old  records  of  the  Weymouth  Band,  I 
find  we  played  for  some  political  party  nearly  every  night  in 
September  and  October,  and  that  our  time  was  about  equally 
divided  between  the  Fillmore  Club  and  the  Fremont  Club. 
There  seems  to  have  been  no  Democratic  Club  in  our  village, 
as  all  appear  to  have  belonged  to  the  Republican  and  the 
American  or  Know-Nothing  parties. 

On  the  nomination  of  Fremont,  there  was  a  great  ratifica- 
tion meeting  at  the  Town  Hall.  The  Band  played  on  this 
occasion,  and  in  the  procession  was  a  hand-organ  which  Mr. 
Thomas  Porter  had  secured.  I  remember  that  hand-organ 
grinding  out  music  in  a  wagon  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 
In  this  campaign  torchlights  came  for  the  first  time,  and 
grand  illuminations  of  houses,  each  vieing  with  the  other  in 
trying  to  make  the  greatest  display. 

I  find  by  the  old  records  that  there  was  one  Democratic 
flag-raising  in  the  Square.  September  17  was  Franklin  Day 
in  Boston,  when  his  monument  in  front  of  City  Hall  was  dedi- 
cated, and  our  Band  played  for  the  City  of  Boston. 

On  May  19,  Charles  Sumner  made  his  great  speech  on 
"The  Crime  against  Kansas."  He  said  :  "The  crime  against 
Kansas  is  the  crime  of  crimes ;  it  is  the  crime  against  Nature, 
from  which  the  soul  recoils  and  which  language  refuses  to 
describe.  David  R.  Atchison,  like  Catiline,  stalked  into  the 
chamber  reeking  with  conspiracy,  and  then,  like  Catiline,  he 
skulked  away  to  join  and  provoke  the  conspirators  who  awaited 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  121 

their  congenial  chief.  The  followers  were  murderous  robbers 
from  Missouri ;  they  were  hirelings  picked  from  the  drunken 
spew  and  vomit  of  an  uneasy  civilization." 

If  there  had  been  no  more  to  Sumner's  speech  than  the 
invectives  against  the  slave  power,  he  would  not  have  been 
assaulted  by  Preston  C.  Brooks ;  nor  is  it  probable  that  the 
bitter  attack  which  he  made  against  South  Carolina  would 
have  provoked  violence,  had  it  not  been  coupled  with  personal 
allusions  to  Senator  Butler,  who  was  a  kinsman  of  Brooks. 

It  is  necessary  to  quote  from  Sumner's  speech,  to  show  the 
extent  of  the  provocation :  "  The  Senator  from  South  Caro- 
lina [Butler],"  he  said,  "and  the  Senator  from  Illinois  [Doug- 
las], who,  though  unlike  Don  Quixote  and  Sancho  Panza,  yet 
like  this  couple  sally  forth  together  in  championship  of  human 
wrongs.  The  Senator  from  South  Carolina  has  read  many 
books  on  chivalry,  and  believes  himself  a  chivalrous  knight, 
with  sentiments  of  honor  and  courage.  Of  course  he  has 
chosen  a  mistress  to  whom  he  has  made  his  vows,  and  who, 
though  ugly  to  others,  is  always  lovely  to  him  ;  though  pol- 
luted in  the  sight  of  the  world,  is  chaste  in  his  sight, —  I  mean 
the  harlot  slavery.  For  her  his  tongue  is  always  profuse  in 
words  ;  let  her  be  impeached  in  character  on  any  proposition 
made  to  shut  her  from  the  extension  of  her  wantonness,  and 
no  extravagance  of  manner  or  hardihood  of  assertion  is  then 
too  great  for  the  Senator ;  the  frenzy  of  Don  Quixote,  in  be- 
half of  his  wench  Dulcinea  del  Toboso,  is  all  surpassed." 

On  the  second  day  of  his  speech  Sumner  said :  "  With 
regret,  I  come  again  upon  the  Senator  from  South  Carolina 
[Butler],  who,  omnipresent  in  this  debate,  overflowed  with  rage 
at  the  simple  suggestion  that  Kansas  had  applied  for  admis- 
sion as  a  State ,  and  with  incoherent  phrases  discharged  the 
loose  expectoration  of  his  speech,  now  upon  her  representa- 
tive, and  then  upon  her  people.  The  Senator  touches  nothing 
which  he  does  not  disfigure  with  error,  sometimes  of  principle, 


122  Reminiscences. 

sometimes  of  fact.  He  shows  an  incapacity  of  accuracy ;  he 
cannot  open  his  mouth  but  out  flies  a  bkmder." 

There  seems  to  have  been  no  reason  for  Sumner's  personal 
attack  on  Butler,  other  than  his  defence  of  Atchison,  which, 
to-day,  reads  as  a  tribute  to  a  generous  though  rough  and  mis- 
guided man.     This  was  very  galling  to  Sumner. 

Butler  was  a  man  of  fine  family,  older  in  looks  than  his 
sixty  years,  courteous,  a  lover  of  learning,  and  a  jurist  of  repu- 
tation. He  was  chairman  of  the  Senate  Judiciary  Committee. 
When  Sumner  sat  down,  Cass  rose  and  said  :  "  I  have  listened 
with  equal  regret  and  surprise  to  the  speech  of  the  Senator 
from  Massachusetts.  Such  a  speech  —  the  most  unpatriotic 
that  ever  grated  on  the  ears  of  the  members  of  this  body  — 
I  hope  never  to  hear  again  here  or  elsewhere." 

Douglas  spoke  of  the  depth  of  malignity  that  issued  from 
every  sentence  of  Sumner's  speech.  Said  he:  "The  libels, 
the  gross  insults  which  we  have  heard  to-day,  have  been  conned 
over,  written  with  a  cool,  deliberate  malignity,  repeated  from 
night  to  night  in  order  to  catch  the  appropriate  grace,  and 
then  he  comes  here  to  spit  forth  that  malignity  upon  men  who 
differ  from  him  —  for  that  is  their  offence," 

This  was  Sumner's  reply  :  "  Let  the  Senator  remember 
that  the  bowie-knife  and  bludgeon  are  not  the  proper  emblems 
of  senatorial  debate.  Let  him  remember  that  the  swagger  of 
Bob  Acres  and  the  ferocity  of  a  Malay  cannot  add  dignity  to 
this  body  ;  that  no  person  with  the  upright  form  of  man  can 
be  allowed,  without  violation  of  all  decency,  to  switch  out 
from  his  tongue  the  perpetual  stench  of  offensive  personality, 
taking  for  a  model  the  noisome,  squat  and  nameless  animal." 
Douglas  made  an  offensive  retort,  and  Sumner  rejoined,  "  Mr. 
President,  again  the  Senator  has  switched  his  tongue,  and 
again  he  fills  the  Senate  with  his  offensive  odor." 

On  May  22,  at  the  close  of  the  session,  Sumner  remamed  in 
the  chamber,  occupied  in  writing  letters ;  he  was  approached 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  123 

by  Brooks,  a  Representative  from  South  Carolina  and  a  kins- 
man of  Senator  Butler.  Brooks  said,  "I  have  read  your 
speech ;  it  is  a  libel  on  South  Carolina  and  Mr.  Butler,  a 
relative  of  mine."  As  he  spoke,  he  struck  Sumner  on  the 
head  with  his  cane,  made  of  gutta  percha,  and  about  one  inch 
in  diameter. 

Sumner,  pinned  under  his  desk,  could  offer  no  resistance, 
and  Brooks  continued  his  blows  till  the  cane  broke,  when  he 
went  on  beating  with  the  butt-end.  The  first  attack  stunned 
and  blinded  Sumner,  but  with  powerful  effort,  he  wrenched 
the  desk  from  its  fastenings,  stood  up,  and  with  spasmodic  and 
wildly-directed  efforts,  attempted  to  protect  himself.  Brooks 
seized  him  and  struck  him  again  and  again,  until  his  arm  was 
grasped  by  one  who  rushed  to  the  spot  to  stop  the  assault. 
Sumner's  injury  was  more  serious  than  was  at  first  thought  by 
his  physician  and  friends.  The  blows  would  have  killed  most 
men,  but  Sumner's  iron  constitution  and  perfect  health  warded 
off  a  fatal  result.  For  three  years  and  a  half  after  the  assault 
of  Brooks,  Sumner  was  under  medical  treatment  in  Washing- 
ton, Boston,  and  London. 

He  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate  by  an  almost  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  having  received  out  of 
345  votes  in  the  House,  333.  He  did  not  enter  the  Senate 
again  until  December,  1859,  ^^^  did  not  speak  again  until 
June,  i860,  when  he  described  in  burning  words,  "The  Bar- 
barism of  Slavery." 

To  take  a  man  unawares  in  a  position  where  he  could  not 
defend  himself,  and  injure  the  seat  of  his  intellect,  was  a  most 
dreadful  deed. 

Following  are  quotations  from  contemporary  authorities  on 
the  assault  on  Sumner :  "  And  who  was  he,  struck  down  in 
the  strength  of  a  splendid  manhood }  One  of  nature's  noble- 
men, cast  in  her  finest  mould."  "  Besides  physical  perfection, 
Sumner  was  endowed  with  a  vigorous  brain,  a  great  soul,  and 


124  Reminiscences . 

a  pure  heart ;  the  feeling  of  revenge  was  foreign  to  his  nature : 
he  felt  no  resentment  towards  Brooks." 

"  Full  of  manly  independence,  he  would  submit  to  no  leader- 
ship, bow  to  no  party,  nor  solicit  any  member  of  the  Legisla- 
ture for  a  vote.  His  presence  made  you  forget  the  vulgarities 
of  political  life.  He  was  the  soul  of  honor,  and  his  absolute 
integrity  extended  to  the  most  trivial  affairs  of  life.  Duty  was 
to  him  sacred ;  his  thoughts,  his  deeds,  were  pure." 

"  His  faults  were  venial,  and  such  as  we  might  look  for  in 
a  spoiled  chief  of  a  city  of  culture.  He  was  vain,  conceited, 
fond  of  flattery,  overbearing  in  manner,  and  wore  a  constant 
air  of  superiority."  Ex-Governor  John  D.  Long  said,  "Sumner 
needs  adulation."  Longfellow,  in  his  diary,  speaking  of  a 
dinner  party  where  all  were  Republicans,  wrote,  "When  I 
came  away,  all  were  enumerating  Sumner's  defects,  or  what 
they  imagined  were  such." 

Jefferson  Davis  said,  "  Charles  Sumner  was  a  handsome,  un- 
pleasing  man,  and  an  athlete,  whose  physique  proclaimed  his 
physical  strength ;  his  conversation  was  studied,  but  brilliant, 
his  manner  deferential  only  as  a  matter  of  social  policy." 
Johnson  says,  "It  was  Sumner's  silly  way  of  saying  the 
bitterest  things  without  apparent  consciousness  of  saying  any- 
thing harmful." 

Preston  C.  Brooks  came  from  one  of  the  good  South  Caro- 
lina families.  He  was  well  educated,  and  had  been  a  member 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  for  three  years,  where  his 
conduct  had  been  that  of  a  gentleman.  He  was  courteous, 
accomplished,  warm-hearted  and  hot-blooded,  and  a  good  friend 
but  a  fearful  enemy.  His  assault  struck  the  people  with 
horror,  and  indignation  meetings  were  held  all  over  the  North. 
Edward  Everett,  the  type  of  Northern  conservatism,  said : 
"  It  were  well  worth  all  the  gold  of  California,  could  the  deed 
be  blotted  from  the  record  of  the  past  week."  The  tendency 
was  to  forget  the  personal  provocation,  and  to  regard  the  at- 


In  the  '' Fifties y  125 

tack  on  Sumner  as  an  outrage  by  the  slave  power,  as  he  had 
so  denounced  the  South. 

Since  the  Burns  case  in  May  and  June,  1854,  when  Sumner 
denounced  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  he  had  been  very  obnoxious 
to  the  South,  and  had  been  warned  that  he  stood  in  personal 
danger.  He  was  hated  more  by  the  South  than  any  other 
Republican. 

In  the  South,  the  assault  was  approved  by  the  people  and 
the  press.  The  "Washington  Union  "  said  :  "According  to 
the  code  of  pohtical  morals  which  seems  to  prevail  in  Massa- 
chusetts, it  is  not  only  no  offence,  but  praiseworthy,  for  a 
Senator  in  Congress  to  avail  himself  of  his  position  to  indulge 
day  after  day  in  the  grossest  vituperation  and  calumny ;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  if  some  opponent,  thus  abused  and  slan- 
dered, seeks  for  satisfaction  by  applying  his  gutta-percha  to 
the  head  of  the  Senator,  the  crime  is  so  shocking  that  the 
whole  of  Black  Republicandom  is  filled  with  indignation  meet- 
ings." 

Brooks,  on  returning  to  South  Carolina,  received  an  enthusi- 
astic welcome,  and  to  make  him  the  present  of  a  cane  was  a 
favorite  testimonial.  South  Carolina  was  as  joyful  as  Massa- 
chusetts was  sorrowful. 

Senator  Wilson  said  in  the  Senate  :  "  Sumner  was  stricken 
down  by  a  brutal,  cowardly  assault."  Butler  replied,  "You  are 
a  liar."  Brooks  challenged  Wilson  to  a  duel,  but  Wilson  de- 
clined the  challenge,  repeating  the  words  he  had  before  used. 

Anson  Burlingame  of  Massachusetts  denounced  the  assault 
in  the  name  of  fair  play,  which  even  bullies  and  prize-fighters 
respect.  Burlingame's  remarks  resulted  in  a  challenge  from 
Brooks,  which  was  promptly  accepted  by  Burlingame,  who 
selected  for  the  meeting-place  the  Clifton  House,  Niagara  Falls. 
Brooks  declined  to  fight  the  duel  there,  on  the  ground  that  it 
would  not,  in  the  excited  state  of  feeling,  be  safe  for  him  to  go 
there. 


126  Reminiscences. 

The  day  after  the  assault,  many  of  the  Senators  went  to 
their  seats  armed.  An  exciting  time  was  anticipated,  but  the 
proceedings  were  quiet.  Wilson  gave  a  temperate  account  of 
the  facts,  and  Seward  offered  a  Resolution  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  committee  to  consider  the  affair.  A  committee  was 
appointed,  which  reported  in  favor  of  the  expulsion  of  Brooks. 
On  the  Resolution,  the  vote  was  121  to  95.  As  it  required  a 
two-thirds  vote,  it  was  not  carried. 

After  the  decision  Brooks  made  a  speech,  and  ended  by 
resigning  his  seat  as  Representative.  His  district  re-elected 
him  almost  unanimously.  In  the  following  January  Brooks 
died,  but  not  until  he  had  confessed  to  a  friend  that  he  was 
sick  of  being  regarded  as  the  representative  of  bullies,  and  was 
disgusted  at  receiving  testimonials  of  their  esteem.  Butler 
lived  but  a  few  days  over  a  year  from  the  time  the  attack  was 
made. 

Though  freedom  in  Kansas  was  one  object,  the  Emigrant 
Aid  Societies  of  New  England  had  others,  indicated  by  their 
name.  Their  purpose  and  plan  was  to  aid  those  who  would 
procure  lands  and  make  for  themselves  homes  in  the  new  terri- 
tory. They  contemplated  only  peaceful  measures,  though  the 
emigrants  themselves  were  of  course  compelled  to  resort  to 
such  means  of  self-defence  as  the  "  border-ruffian "  policy 
rendered  imperative. 

In  the  early  days  of  1854,  Eli  Thayer  of  Worcester,  drew  up 
the  charter  of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company  of  Massachusetts, 
introduced  the  matter  to  the  Legislature  and  had  it  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Judiciary.  The  charter  was  signed  by  the 
Governor,  May  26,  1854. 

This  was  a  stock  company,  having  its  capital  originally  fixed 
at  five  millions,  from  which  an  assessment  of  four  per  cent, 
was  to  be  collected  for  the  operations  of  1854. 

Mr.  Thayer  hired  a  hall  in  Boston  and  spoke  day  and  even- 
ing in  favor  of  his  enterprise.     One  day  he  would  meet  a  party 


In  the  "Fifties^  127 

of  clergymen  in  Theodore  Parker's  study ;  on  the  next,  one  in 
Dr.  Lothrop's,  and  with  the  help  of  the  Boston  press,  there 
began  to  be  some  interest  in  the  plan  to  save  Kansas. 

At  the  close  of  one  of  his  meetings  in  Boston,  a  man  in  the 
rear  of  the  hall  arose  and  announced  his  intention  to  subscribe 
ten  thousand  dollars  towards  the  capital  stock  of  the  company. 
This  was  John  M.  S.  Williams  of  Cambridgeport.  Charles 
Francis  Adams,  Sr.,  came  forward  with  a  subscription  of 
twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  others  followed. 

The  office  of  the  company  was  in  Boston.  The  emigrants 
from  Maine,  eastern  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  were 
for  the  most  part  registered  in  the  Boston  office,  and  made 
into  colonies.  The  books  of  the  Boston  company  showed 
about  three  thousand  emigrants  in  all.  The  pioneer  colony 
left  Boston  July  17,  1854,  and  the  number  was  doubled  before 
reaching  Kansas.  Immense  crowds  gathered  at  the  stations 
to  give  them  a  parting  "God-speed." 

In  August  another  colony  went  out.  In  their  outfit  was  a 
steam  saw-mill.  These  men  entered  in  earnest  upon  the  work 
of  making  a  home,  and  soon  their  canvas  tents  gave  place  to 
more  substantial  structures. 

Among  the  members  of  the  second  party  were  Dr.  Charles 
Robinson  and  Samuel  C.  Pomeroy  ;  the  former  becoming  the 
first  Governor  under  the  "Free-State  Constitution,"  and  the 
latter  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate. 

This  organized  effort  of  "free-statesmen,"  and  the  fact  that 
they  had  formed  a  settlement,  and  that  the  town  of  Lawrence 
had  taken  form  and  name,  made  a  marked  impression  both  at 
the  North  and  South.  Not  only  did  additional  colonies  go 
from  Massachusetts  and  other  New  England  States,  but  colo- 
nies were  formed  in  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio.  To 
this  work  Mr.  Thayer  devoted  himself  with  tireless  energy 
and  unceasing  effort.  Fully  impressed  with  the  idea  that  in 
this  way  the  Free  States  had  the  power  to  secure  freedom  to 


128  Reminiscences. 

the  Territories,  he  travelled  thousands  of  miles  and  made 
hundreds  of  speeches,  giving  his  views  and  calling  on  the 
people  to  join  in  this  grand  crusade. 

Eli  Thayer  was  very  bitter  on  the  Abolitionists.  He  said 
of  them  :  "  One  great  error  in  the  methods  of  these  Abolition- 
ists was  to  stimulate  feeling  upon  the  slavery  question  without 
suggesting  any  practical  action ;  in  their  annual,  semi-annual 
and  quarterly  conventions  and  numerous  anti-slavery  bazaars, 
the  most  fiery,  furious  and  passionate  of  their  orators  pictured 
blood-hounds,  auction  blocks,  manacles  and  whipping-posts  ; 
tears  and  wailings  were  the  result.  The  only  action  they  pro- 
posed was  the  destruction  of  the  Government,  the  overthrow 
of  the  Constitution,  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  the 
abolition  of  the  pulpit  and  the  Church." 

In  1854,  the  School  Board  was  composed  of  these  men  : 
Dr.  Appleton  Howe,  Noah  Vining,  John  W.  Loud,  James 
Humphrey,  Dr.  J.  H.  Gilbert,  Benjamin  F.  White,  and  Lemuel 
Torrey.     These  were  men  of  note  in  the  town. 

The  Selectmen  were  Noah  Vining,  Jr.,  James  Humphrey, 
and  Prescott  Lathrop ;  Treasurer,  Thomas  Nash ;  Town-Clerk, 
Oran  White.  The  three  Selectmen  were  paid  for  their  ser- 
vices $133.49;  the  Treasurer,  $40;  the  Clerk,  $40;  and  the 
School  Committee,  $206. 

Abner  Holbrook  and  Daniel  Dyer  were  chosen  Representa- 
tives, and  Henry  J.  Gardner  Governor.  There  are  still  some 
amongst  us  who  will  remember  the  great  Gardner  inaugura- 
tion ball,  held  at  the  Town  Hall,  which  was  given  by  the  Wey- 
mouth Band. 

As  I  remember  our  townsmen  fifty  years  ago,  Adoram 
Clapp  was  our  Representative  in  1839  >  "^Y  father,  Major  Elias 
Hunt,  in  185 1  ;  Charles  E.  Hunt  was  a  delegate  to  the  State 
Convention  in  1852-3  ;  Atherton  N.  Hunt  was  State  Senator 
in  i860,  and  his  son,  E.  Atherton  Hunt,  was  a  Representa- 
tive, and  a  State  Senator  in  1875 ;  Richard  A.  Hunt  and  Free- 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  129 

man  Hollis  were  also  Representatives.  Strange  to  say,  Nath- 
aniel Blanchard  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one  of  the  coterie 
who  obtained  no  office,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  he  cared 
little  for  office,  but  enjoyed  going  to  the  old  shop,  "  Tammany 
Hall,"  and  working  for  others  than  himself.  The  reader  will 
notice  that  those  who  held  the  town  offices  seemed  to  be  of 
our  best  people. 

"  'Tis  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view, 
And  robes  the  mountain  with  its  azure  hue." 

My  first  vote  was  cast  for  George  S.  Bout  well,  in  185 1,  he 
being  a  Democrat  and  the  candidate  of  the  Coalition  party, 
so  called,  made  up  of  dissatisfied  Whigs,  Democrats,  and  those 
opposed  to  slavery  —  the  anti-slavery  element.  Governor 
Boutwell  held  many  offices,  being  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
under  Grant ;  he  was  also  chosen  United  States  Senator,  to 
fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of  Henry  Wilson,  when  Wilson  was 
chosen  Vice-President. 

Upon  the  election  of  George  F,  Hoar  to  the  Senate  in  1877, 
Governor  Boutwell  retired  from  public  life,  a  disappointed 
man.  He  then  became  a  "Mugwump,"  upon  the  fence,  scold- 
ing both  sides,  but  nothing  too  vitriolic  could  he  say  of  his 
old  party,  the  Republican.  Later  he  fell  off  the  fence  into 
the  arms  of  the  Democratic  party,  and  appeared  advising  the 
negro  to  vote  the  Democratic  ticket  for  the  Presidency.  It 
was  a  sad  ending,  considering  the  beginning. 

In  looking  over  my  old  papers,  I  find  that  I  was  manufac- 
turing boots  in  185 1,  in  the  old  shop  by  the  Burying-ground. 
I  sold  a  number  of  cases  to  Richards  &  Hunt,  to  Josiah 
Richards,  and  to  my  brother,  Ebenezer  William  Hunt. 

One  Saturday  afternoon,  being  tired  of  the  business,  I  sent 
over  for  Mr.  Asa  Hunt,  knowing  that  he  would  buy  my  stock 
and  tools  if  he  could  get  them  cheap.  I  sold  him  everything 
that  was  in  the  shop, —  lasts,  leather,  tools,  in  fact  everything 


1 30  Reminiscences. 

there  was ;  and  that  was  the  last  I  had  to  do  with  manufactur- 
ing boots. 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1853,  as  the  firm  of  Richards  &  Hunt 
was  dissolved,  I  went  with  my  brother  Ebenezer  to  Boston, 
where  he  took  the  store  at  30  Central  street.  This  store  was 
formerly  occupied  by  Alexander  Strong,  and  before  his  time 
by  Isaac  Jackson,  who  afterwards  came  to  Weymouth  and  was 
in  business  on  the  wharves.  I  found  in  the  loft  his  old  sign. 
Here  it  was  my  part  of  the  business  to  get  to  town  early  in 
the  morning,  open  and  sweep  out,  build  the  fires,  if  in  winter, 
and  dust  off  the  goods  on  the  shelves.  I  tell  thus  much  of 
my  work  in  the  Boston  store,  as  there  was  the  turning  point 
of  my  life. 

In  addition  to  the  care  of  the  store,  I  kept  the  books  and 
occasionally  sold  to  a  customer.  The  business  was  small,  and 
at  this  time  my  brother  was  building  his  dwelling-house,  but 
little  in  town,  coming  late  and  going  early.  I  was  alone  most 
of  the  time,  and  a  dull  place  it  was,  occasionally  enlivened  by 
some  one  coming  in  from  Weymouth.  At  that  time  business 
seemed  to  be  done  wholly  on  credit ;  the  leather  was  bought 
on  six  months'  time,  and  sold  in  the  same  way.  A  man  would 
come  in  to  sell  a  few  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  boots  and  take 
a  six  months'  note.  At  the  same  time  he  would  buy  about 
the  same  amount  of  calfskins  or  sole  leather,  and  give  a  six 
months'  note.     There  was  little  cash  business  done. 

One  morning,  after  sweeping  out  and  dusting,  a  gentleman 
came  into  the  store.  He  was  from  New  York  State  and 
wanted  to  buy  boots  and  shoes  to  stock  his  store.  Before 
my  brother  Eben  arrived  from  Weymouth  I  had  sold  him 
about  all  he  wanted.  He  settled  the  bill  by  paying  some 
$750  cash.  This  was  a  red-letter  day  in  the  old  store,  for 
cash  was  needed  when  a  note  had  to  be  paid. 

At  that  time,  when  one  had  a  note  to  pay,  he  took  all  the 
bills  to  the  Suffolk  Bank  and  had  them  exchanged  for  their 


In  the  "Fifties^  131 

money.  The  officers  would  always  throw  out  all  that  was  in 
any  way  doubtful,  as  for  example  a  note  from  Rhode  Island, 
or  perhaps  from  some  country  bank.  This  always  caused 
much  trouble,  as  one  would  have  to  go  back  to  the  store  to 
get  other  bills,  and  time  was  short,  the  banks  closing  at  two 
o'clock.     As  I  had  to  do  this  work,  I  well  remember  it. 

In  this  old  store  I  was  as  lonesome  as  Coleridge's  "Ancient 
Mariner,"  and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  to  see  the  folks  from 
Weymouth  come  in  on  Saturdays  to  sell  and  buy.  Among 
them  I  remember  Atherton  Hunt,  Charles  Hunt,  Richard 
Loud,  S.  W.  Nash,  and  others  from  the  Landing ;  Joseph  Tot- 
man  and  his  brother  Eben  Totman,  Marshall  C.  Dizer,  and 
Henry  Loud,  from  East  Weymouth. 

The  Congress  boot  had  just  come  into  the  market  at  this 
time,  and  was  manufactured  at  East  Weymouth. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  my  brother  Fred  came 
to  Boston  as  a  boy,  and  was  employed  in  Holden  &  Cutter's 
fancy  goods  store  on  Kilby  street.  This  firm  was  agent  for 
Sanderson  &  Lanergan,  the  noted  pyrotechnists  of  that  time. 
This  fact  was  of  great  interest  to  me,  as  I  had  always  been 
interested  in  the  art. 

Now,  the  business  of  store-keeping  was  so  uninteresting, 
and  I  was  so  unsuited  to  carry  it  on,  that  I  took  up  the  idea 
of  making  fireworks.  In  the  intervals  I  had  in  the  shoe  busi- 
ness (they  were  many),  I  built  a  bench  in  the  basement  of  the 
store,  got  samples  of  rockets,  Roman  candles,  etc.,  from  my 
brother  Fred,  and  commenced  work.  I  had  the  formers  turned 
out  and  made  the  cases.  I  had  now  been  with  my  brother 
Eben  some  two  years  or  more. 

In  the  spring  of  1856,  I  obtained  two  large  packing-cases  of 
Mr.  Henry  J.  Hoi  brook,  packed  up  all  the  stuff  I  had  made, 
and  loaded  it  on  the  express  for  Weymouth.  Having  built  a 
small  building  to  work  in,  I  followed  my  boxes,  never  more  to 
handle   boots   and  shoes.     This  was  a  great  disappointment 


132  Reminiscences. 

to  my  people  and  a  surprise  to  all,  as  it  seemed  such  a  foolish 
venture;  but  "things  are  not  what  they  seem."  The  hard 
times  of  1857  were  coming  on  ;  my  brother  was  losing  money, 
and  I  knew  his  business  must  be  a  failure  in  time. 

I  sometimes  go  through  Central  street,  Boston,  and  when  I 
get  to  number  thirty  I  always  stop,  and  my  mind  travels  back 
to  the  old  time  when  Atherton,  Stetson  &  Co.,  J.  C.  Linds- 
ley,  A.  P.  Tapley,  Charles  and  Matthew  Cox,  George  L, 
Thayer,  the  Trescotts,  and  David  Hunt  were  all  in  business 
on  this  street,  and  my  old  friend  John  Esterbrook,  the  truck- 
man, did  all  the  trucking. 

Opposite  number  thirty  was  the  old  stand  of  A.  N.  Cook, 
the  famous  Roxbury  brewer  of  ale,  and  here  I  got  my  lunch  — 
a  doughnut  with  a  glass  of  ale.  Cook's  ale  was  the  best  at 
that  time,  as  it  is  to-day  under  the  name  of  McCormick,  his 
successor.  At  Cook's,  in  those  days,  you  would  meet  many 
of  the  best  people  of  Boston,  —  all  the  merchants  near  by  get- 
ting lunch  there. 

Returning  to  Weymouth,  I  was  ready  to  go  to  work  at  once, 
having  acquired  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  business  in  my  boy- 
hood days.  I  had  been  at  work  but  a  short  time,  when,  on 
March  11,  1856,  a  little  boy  came  along  and  wanted  some- 
thing to  do.  This  was  Edward  F.  Linton,  who  at  that  time 
was  living  with  his  folks  in  an  old  house  on  Commercial  street, 
opposite  the  Cotton  Tufts  house,  and  long  since  torn  down. 
Linton  was  a  bright  boy,  and  soon  was  a  great  help  to  me, 
A  while  after,  Charles  R.  Trott  and  Manning  Davy  came  to 
work  with  me. 

In  this  work  I  was  an  enthusiast,  losing  not  a  moment,  but 
continually  experimenting  from  morning  till  night,  and  with 
the  most  dangerous  materials,  learning  their  nature  as  I  ad- 
vanced.    Every  book  that  could  teach  me  I  hunted  up. 

In  the  early  days  I  remember  going  into  a  Boston  store 
where  the  proprietor  tossed  me  out  a  French  catalogue  of 


In  the  ''Fifties."  133 

scientific  books.  Looking  it  over  I  found  one,  Feu  d' Artifice. 
My  French  was  limited,  but  I  did  know  that  this  related  to  fire- 
works. It  was  just  what  I  wanted,  for  you  must  know  that 
the  making  of  fireworks  was  kept  a  secret  among  the  manu- 
facturers. 

Happening  to  know  a  French  commissionaire,  a  Mr.  Schey- 
rer,  I  told  him  of  the  book,  and  he  secured  it  for  me.  It  was 
quite  a  large  work,  and  from  the  index  was  just  the  book  I 
wanted.  Now,  the  old-fashioned  fireworks-maker  scorned  any- 
thing new,  and  was"  satisfied  with  the  past,  and  "  Cutbush,"  an 
old  work  published  one  hundred  years  ago,  was  sufficient  for 
his  necessities.  This  Feu  d* Artifice,  by  Chertier,  a  French- 
man, was  far  in  advance,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  my  copy 
was  the  first  sold  in  this  country. 

I  could  not  then  read  French,  and  impatient  to  know  its 
contents,  I  went  to  the  Westons'  and  met  Mrs.  Chapman,  who, 
upon  my  telling  her  my  troubles,  read  off  several  chapters. 
This  gave  me  some  knowledge  of  the  value  of  the  book ;  so 
having  a  French-English  dictionary,  I  went  to  work  and  trans- 
lated the  whole  book,  gaining  a  knowledge  of  its  contents. 
Though  a  beginner,  the  work  of  Chertier  placed  me  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  old  pyrotechnists  who  had  learned  their  trade  by 
rule  of  thumb.  The  book  not  only  told  me  what  chemicals  to 
use,  but  how  to  make  each  kind,  and  their  nature.  In  boyhood 
I  had  made  rockets  and  Roman  candles,  and  had  had  many 
mysterious  fires  from  spontaneous  combustion.  This  book 
explained  all  such  things  and  why  they  occurred,  and  how  to 
avoid  these  dangers.  It  was  the  pleasure  of  the  makers  of 
fireworks  to  call  me  a  shoe-manufacturer,  and  one  who  had 
never  learned  the  art ;  but  from  the  love  and  study  I  gave 
to  it,  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  them  all  go  out  of  the 
business,  while  E.  S.  Hunt  &  Sons  alone  remain. 

Often  in  my  life  I  have  found  that  the  man  who  has  learned 
a  trade  is  apt  to  work  in  a  groove.     His  ideas  seem  stunted, 


1 34  Reminiscences. 

and  he  does  not  like  to  take  up  with  new  things  that  come  up. 
Of  this  kind  were  my  competitors. 

The  boy  Linton,  who  travelled  along  with  me  in  those  days, 
had  all  the  advantages  of  my  experiments  and  work  ;  and  when 
he  went  to  New  York  in  after  years,  to  continue  in  the  fire- 
works business,  he  was  far  in  advance  of  all  his  competitors, 
having  learned  his  business  of  a  "  shoe  manufacturer." 

To  find  out  how  my  competitors  made  their  goods,  I  sent 
Linton  to  New  York,  to  visit  all  the  factories,  as  I  never  had 
been  in  a  fireworks  factory  except  my  own.  Having  a  long 
surtout  coat,  I  loaned  it  to  Linton.  It  was  light-colored,  and 
came  down  nearly  to  his  heels ;  this,  with  a  light,  soft  hat,  gave 
him  quite  a  literary  appearance,  something  like  Horace  Greeley. 
He  went  to  New  York  and  visited  all  the  fireworks  factories 
in  the  guise  of  a  newspaper  reporter.  He  came  back  and  re- 
lated his  travels,  and,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  told  me  that 
all  their  methods  were  old  and  obsolete,  and  far  behind  what 
we  were  doing  at  home. 

I  had  been  at  work  but  a  short  time  before  I  was  brought 
to  a  realization  of  the  dangers  of  this  new  business  that  I  had 
undertaken.  One  day  I  was  making  "green-fire,"  having  mixed 
together  in  an  iron  mortar  chlorate  of  potash,  baryta,  and  sul- 
phur, and  was  powdering  it  together,  when  it  ignited,  burning 
me  fearfully.  I  ran  out  of  the  shop  to  a  puddle  of  water  just 
behind  the  building,  into  which  I  thrust  my  hands.  At  the 
end  of  the  building  was  a  one-sash  window,  out  of  which  the 
boy  Linton  crawled.  The  performance  was  so  comical  that 
notwithstanding  the  fearful  pain  from  my  burns,  I  gave  a  loud 
laugh,  and  the  neighbors  seeing  the  smoke  from  the  fire,  but 
hearing  my  laughter  thought  nothing  of  account  had  happened. 

I  went  home  and  at  once  sent  for  my  friend  Mr.  Amos  S. 
White,  as  my  wife  was  away.  He  came  and  did  all  that  he 
could  to  relieve  the  pain.  I  was  not  only  suffering  from  the 
burns,  but  was  fearfully  sick  from  inhaling  the  fumes  of  the 


In  the  ''Fifties:'  135 

nitrate  of  baryta,  a  poisonous  chemical.  Mr.  White  did  not 
help  the  matter  much,  as  he  bathed  the  burns  with  Haines's 
Balsam,  a  powerful  medicine  made  mostly  from  spirits  of 
turpentine. 

I  would  no  doubt  have  done  better  to  have  sent  for  a  regu- 
lar physician,  but  I  had  great  faith  in  Mr.  White,  and  little  in 
a  physician.  I  had  a  fearful  night,  but  was  much  relieved  of 
my  pain  in  the  morning  by  using  sweet  oil  and  lime  water. 
This  preparation  my  wife  always  afterwards  kept  on  hand  for 
an  emergency. 

At  the  time  of  the  accident  I  wore  a  full  beard.  This  was 
entirely  burned  off,  as  were  my  eyebrows,  so  that  a  Chinaman 
never  looked  more  like  himself  than  I  like  him.  Soon  after, 
our  Band  was  giving  concerts,  and  one  was  given  in  the  Town 
Hall.  At  that  time  I  was  not  at  all  handsome,  but  my  part 
was  wanted,  and  so,  never  minding  the  looks,  I  went  before 
the  public.  This  fearful  experience  of  mine  would  have  sick- 
ened many  of  this  business,  but  it  only  made  me  the  more 
interested,  first  to  find  the  cause  of  my  accident,  and  then  to 
avoid  the  same  in  future. 

At  this  early  stage,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  troubled  by  spon- 
taneous combustion  ;  that  is,  I  would  mix  up  certain  chemicals 
by  receipt,  and  from  some  cause  or  other,  in  a  little  time  they 
would  take  fire  and  burn  up.  Well  do  I  remember  one  Sun- 
day morning  I  was  experimenting  in  a  little  building  that 
stood  apart  from  my  others,  —  I  experimented  continually  on 
Sundays  as  on  other  days,  going  home  to  dress  for  dinner  and 
to  get  ready  for  church  in  the  afternoon,  —  when  I  heard  an 
explosion.  I  did  not  need  to  look  to  see  whence  it  occurred, 
for  I  instinctively  knew  that  it  was  in  the  little  shop  where  I 
had  been  at  work  just  before.  Well  knowing  it  would  cause 
no  harm,  I  let  it  burn  up  and  went  to  church  in  the  afternoon 
as  though  nothing  had  occurred.  These  things  were  happen- 
ing continually  until  I  obtained  the  fireworks-book  from  abroad, 


1 36  Reminiscences. 

from  which  I  learned  the  cause  of  all  my  troubles,  and  how  to 
be  rid  of  them. 

During  my  first  year  I  could  have  done  little  business.  I 
secured  Messrs.  A.  S,  &  J.  Brown  as  my  agents  in  Boston,  to 
sell  my  goods,  and  in  the  little  account  book  which  I  still  have, 
I  find  I  sold  only  a  few  hundred  dollars'  worth.  Having  the 
boy  Linton,  and  later  Trott  and  Davy  then,  my  expenses  were 
small,  and  my  household  wants  were  few  as  compared  with 
to-day. 

The  Presidential  election  in  the  fall  of  1856  helped  me  out 
greatly,  there  being  many  torchlight  parades.  During  the 
second  year  of  my  new  business  I  employed  Mr.  Francis  Gush- 
ing. He  was  a  pleasant,  easy-going  man.  I  soon  afterwards 
hired  another,  Mr.  Chester  Sanderson.  He  had  been  one  of 
the  firm  of  Sanderson  &  Lanergan,  now  dissolved ;  they  were 
the  leading  pyrotechnists  for  the  city  of  Boston,  after  the 
days  of  James  G.  Hovey.  Mr.  Sanderson  was,  however,  an 
old-fashioned  fireworks-maker,  having  learned  his  trade  of  Edge, 
of  New  York,  and  never  afterwards  putting  a  new  idea  into 
it  —  '*the  same  yesterday,  to-day  and  forever." 

Mr.  Andrew  Lanergan,  one  of  the  brightest  of  men,  was  the 
inspiration  of  their  business.  In  his  younger  days  he  was  a 
boy  aboard  the  U.  S.  ship  "Ohio  "  ;  afterwards  he  was  in  the 
theatrical  business,  and  then  was  a  workman  for  J.  G.  Hovey, 
where  Sanderson  had  also  worked  for  a  time.  Sanderson  with 
Lanergan  formed  the  company. 

Both  Hovey  and  Sanderson  &  Lanergan  were  in  business 
when  I  began,  but  a  little  while  after,  Lanergan,  while  experi- 
menting on  some  kind  of  ship  signal,  was  fatally  injured  by 
an  explosion,  and  only  lived  about  two  weeks.  Lanergan, 
though  a  Roman  Catholic,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the 
Masonic  Order.  On  his  death-bed  he  was  approached  by  a 
Roman  Catholic  priest,  who  refused  to  absolve  him  unless  he 
abjured   his   solemn   oaths   in   Masonry.     Mr.   Lanergan  had 


In  the  '' Fifties y  137 

many  Masonic  friends,  who  were  continually  around  him  at 
this  time,  and  they  were  on  the  watch  to  see  that  he  remained 
true  to  the  Order.  His  physician  was  Dr.  Winslow  Lewis, 
then  Grand  Master  of  Massachusetts.  The  Bishop,  a  friend 
of  Lanergan's,  regretted  much  that  his  priest  should  have 
brought  this  matter  up,  as  it  was  unnecessary. 

However,  this  affair  was  talked  over  in  all  the  Lodges  with 
great  seriousness.  In  Orphan's  Hope  Lodge  it  was  the  all- 
absorbing  question  among  the  older  members,  like  Alva  Ray- 
mond and  Lovell  Bicknell,  old  Puritans,  who  regarded  an  oath 
in  Masonry  as  sacred  as  their  church,  and  abhorred  anything 
bordering  on  Romanism.  Lanergan  died,  however,  a  good 
Roman  Catholic. 

Upon  his  death,  his  partner,  Sanderson,  came  with  me  for 
a  short  time,  and  I  learned  somewhat  of  him  regarding  exhib- 
ition pieces.  While  he  was  with  me  I  bid  for  the  Seventeenth 
of  June  exhibition  on  Bunker  Hill,  against  Baker  &  Spinney, 
successors  to  J.  G.  Hovey,  and  I  got  the  contract. 

The  fireworks  committee,  Mr.  W.  W.  Wheildon,  of  the 
"  Bunker  Hill  Aurora,"  and  Mr.  Whitney,  I  entertained  at  my 
home.  My  contract  was  for  two  hundred  dollars.  The  after- 
piece used  on  the  occasion  was  an  equestrian  statue  of  Gen- 
eral Washington.  My  Masonic  friend,  William  D.  Stratton, 
was  the  designer.  This  was  a  large  piece,  but  being  my  first 
exhibition  of  account  I  wanted  to  give  a  good  thing,  regardless 
of  the  cost.  The  affair  was  very  satisfactory,  as  by  the  aid  of 
my  French  book  I  was  able  to  show  many  new  designs.  After 
the  display  on  that  Saturday  night,  I  went  home  feeling  that 
I  had  made  a  great  success.  Mr.  Granville  Thompson,  then 
in  the  express  business,  assisted  by  Mr,  Sanderson,  carried  the 
fireworks  and  brought  the  frames  back,  staying  over  night  and 
returning  home  on  Sunday  morning. 

I  well  remember  the  morning  when  the  team  arrived  with 
the  fireworks  frames,  and  Sanderson  and  Thompson  sitting  on 


138  Reminiscences . 

top.  I  asked  how  all  went  off,  and  Sanderson  replied,  "  All 
right,  but  we  killed  one  woman."  In  surprise  I  said,  "  What ! " 
"  One  woman,"  said  he  in  answer,  as  though  it  was  of  the  least 
account.  But  it  caused  the  city  of  Chariest  own  much  trouble 
from  the  suit  entered  against  it  for  damages.  The  counsel  for 
the  defence,  however,  showed  that  the  person  injured  was  sick, 
and  that  the  injury  was  not  wholly  the  cause  of  her  death. 
Some  months  went  by  before  the  final  settlement  was  made, 
when  the  city  paid  the  husband  of  the  woman  injured,  some 
$1,000.  Soon  after  that,  he  was  again  married,  and  the  money 
helped  him  out  greatly.  The  accident  happened  from  a  mis- 
directed flight  of  rockets. 


Chapter  IV.     In  the  "  Sixties." 


j|ITH  the  fall  campaign  of  i860  my  business  in- 
creased greatly.  The  Democratic  Convention 
met  first  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  April  23,  and 
afterwards  adjourned  to  meet  at  Baltimore,  June 
18.  Douglas  was  nominated  for  President,  and 
Johnson,  of  Georgia,  for  Vice-President.  On  June  28,  also  at 
Baltimore,  came  together  the  seceders  from  the  Charleston- 
Baltimore  Convention,  representing  the  Southern  wing  of  the 
Democratic  party.  They  nominated  John  C.  Breckenridge,  of 
Kentucky,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon.  In  May  the  Con- 
vention of  the  Constitutional  Union  party  met  also  at  Balti- 
more. John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  and  Edward  Everett,  of 
Massachusetts,  were  nominated  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent. This  party  was  made  up  of  Republicans,  Secessionists, 
and  "Copperheads." 

On  May  16,  the  Republican  Convention  came  together  at 
Chicago.  The  contest  lay  between  Seward  and  Lincoln.  On 
the  third  ballot  Lincoln  was  nominated  for  President,  and 
Hannibal  Hamlin  for  Vice-President.  "  Since  white  men  first 
landed  on  this  continent,  the  selection  of  Washington  to  lead 
the  army  of  the  Revolution  is  the  only  event  to  be  compared 
in  good  fortune  with  the  nomination  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
says  Morse  in  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln." 


140  Reminiscences. 

"In  strong  common  sense,  in  sagacity  and  sound  judgment, 
and  integrity  of  character,  Mr.  Hamlin  had  no  superior  among 
public  men,"  said  James  G.  Blaine.  Wendell  Phillips  pub- 
lished an  article  entitled  "Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Slave  Hound 
of  Illinois,"  wherein  he  said:  "We  gibbet  a  northern  hound 
to-day  side  by  side  with  the  infamous  Mason  of  Virginia." 

Seward  was  always  a  great  favorite  with  the  Republicans  of 
Massachusetts,  and  he  was  their  candidate  in  the  convention  ; 
so  the  nomination  of  Lincoln,  who  was  a  comparatively  new 
man  to  most  voters,  was  received  with  little  enthusiasm  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  Fremont  four  years  before.  Ratification 
meetings  were  held,  and  a  great  torchlight  parade  occurred  in 
Boston,  where  gathered  all  the  "  Wide  Awake "  clubs  from 
towns  and  cities  of  New  England,  Each  member  wore  a  short 
cape,  and  carried  a  torch,  and  each  club  had  a  brass  band  or  a 
drum  corps. 

After  much  hard  work  I  secured  the  contract  to  furnish  the 
fireworks.  The  men  with  whom  I  contracted  insisted  on  hav- 
ing the  fireworks,  candles,  rockets  and  red-lights  fired  from 
wagons,  each  carrying  a  representation  of  a  volcano,  and  the 
fire  shooting  from  the  tops.  This  was  a  difficult  thing  to  do, 
as  the  sequel  shows. 

Five  volcanoes  were  ordered,  to  be  placed  in  two-horse 
wagons  arranged  at  intervals  in  the  procession.  To  make 
these  new  designs  I  sent  to  the  box-man  and  obtained  a  load 
of  one-half  inch  lumber  and  made  it  up  into  cones,  say  five 
feet  in  height,  having  a  base  that  would  fit  the  wagon-rail,  with 
a  hole  about  a  foot  in  diameter  at  the  top  to  shoot  the  fire- 
works from.  After  these  wooden  cones  were  made,  I  had  to 
paint  them  in  imitation  of  volcanoes.  This  job  Linton  did  not 
do  to  my  satisfaction,  nor  to  his  own.  The  volcanoes  were 
painted  brown,  with  red  and  white  streaks  running  down  the 
sides,  in  imitation  of  lava.  When  all  were  completed,  and  the 
fireworks  loaded  in  five  teams,  we  started  for  Boston  amid 


In  the  "  Sixties^  I41 

much  fun  from  the  spectators.  In  one  team  were  the  boy 
Charles  Trott  with  his  father ;  William  Thayer  and  Frank 
English  in  another,  and  Linton  and  his  companion  in  still 
another,  etc. 

Now  our  volcanoes  were  all  right  on  the  smooth  roads  to 
town,  but  when  the  teams  struck  the  pavement  it  was  a  rough 
road  to  travel,  and  a  difficult  job  for  one  to  stand  on  his  feet 
and  discharge  the  fireworks  through  the  hole  at  the  top.  At 
every  lurch  of  the  team  the  man  inside  of  the  volcano  would 
knock  his  head  against  the  narrow  walls.  In  one  volcano  the 
fireworks  got  a-fire,  so  that  those  inside  had  to  scramble  out, 
and  the  spectators  helped  save  what  remained.  The  effect 
intended  was  far  from  satisfactory,  as  more  than  one  or  two 
Roman  candles  rarely  spouted  at  once  from  the  mouth  of  the 
volcano,  and  the  artistic  work  of  Linton  did  not  show  a  bit, 
for  all  was  dark  on  the  outside. 

While  this  that  I  have  told  was  going  on,  George  Gushing 
and  I  were  firing  shells  from  a  gun  located  on  what  is  now 
the  Public  Garden.  As  all  things  have  an  end,  so  did  this 
torchlight  parade,  and  everything  was  satisfactory  with  the 
fireworks  committee. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  chosen  President  of  the  United 
States,  Nov,  6,  i860,  and  inaugurated  March  4,  1861.  After 
his  election,  the  North  was  for  a  time  completely  demoralized. 
Horace  Greeley,  who  was  so  thoroughly  committed  to  the 
anti-slavery  cause,  became  a  panic-stricken  reformer,  wishing 
to  undo  his  own  achievements.  He  did  all  he  could  in  "  The 
Tribune"  to  obstruct  the  path  along  which  Lincoln  must 
move.  As  with  Greeley,  so  it  was  with  many  others  in  the 
North.  Business  men,  alarmed  at  the  prospect  of  disorder, 
became  solicitous  for  concession,  compromise  and  surrender. 
Even  at  Faneuil  Hall,  in  Boston,  a  large  and  respectable  meet- 
ing was  emphatically  in  favor  of  compromise.  While  the  North 
was  ready  to  retreat,  the  South  was  aggressive  and  confident, 


142  Reminiscences. 

predicting  that  Southern  flags  would  soon  float  over  the 
National  Capitol,  and  even  over  Faneuil  Hall,  should  the 
North  be  so  imprudent  as  to  test  Southern  valor  and  Southern 
resources. 

During  this  time  business  in  our  village  seemed  to  come  to 
a  standstill.  There  was  no  work  to  be  done ;  some  manufac- 
turers had  customers  in  the  South,  and  this  trade,  as  well  as 
the  money  due  from  them,  was  gone.  S.  W.  &  E.  Nash  had 
a  large  California  trade,  and  they  seemed  to  be  doing  all  of  the 
shoe  business  of  the  village. 

My  own  fireworks  business  was  small,  but  after  the  election 
of  Lincoln  there  were  a  number  of  torchlight  processions  and 
illuminations,  in  honor  of  the  victory.  This  gave  a  little 
business. 

One  Saturday  night  on  looking  over  the  newspaper  I  saw 
they  were  to  celebrate  in  Providence,  R.  I.  At  once  I  went 
down  to  White  &  Burrill's,  to  have  them  get  me  to  Braintree 
on  Monday  morning,  to  take  the  first  train  to  Boston,  that  I 
might  connect  with  the  first  for  Providence.  A  lawyer  by  the 
name  of  Vaughn  was  the  member  of  the  committee  that  I 
must  meet.  I  found  his  office,  and  when  I  met  him  coming 
out  of  the  door  I  told  him  my  business.  He  said  he  was  on 
his  way  to  Boston  to  purchase  the  fireworks.  We  rode  back 
to  Boston,  and  on  the  way  I  sold  him  the  fireworks  needed, 
one  hundred  fifty  dollars'  worth. 

On  my  way  from  Providence  I  passed  my  competitor  on  his 
way  after  the  job,  but  as  I  was  the  "early  bird,"  I  got  "the 
worm."  In  a  a  week  or  so  after,  I  received  a  check  by  ex- 
press in  payment. 

In  the  winter  of  i860,  there  being  no  work,  all  the  folks 
went  a-skating.  Every  pond  in  the  neighborhood,  when  in 
condition,  was  covered  with  skaters,  young  and  old,  men  and 
women,  boys  and  girls,  —  none  too  old,  none  too  young  — 
forenoon,  afternoon,  evening. 


hi  the  ''Sixties"  I43 

Mr.  Amos  S.  White  and  others  built  a  dam  by  the  railroad 
bridge,  flowing  the  White  meadow  and  making  a  fine  pond  for 
skating.  Here  a  crowd  gathered  night  and  day  until  a  freshet 
came  and  carried  the  dam  away,  and  with  it  some  of  Mr. 
Warren  Stetson's  garden  wall. 

I  shall  not  forget  one  thing  in  which  I  was  much  interested 
at  that  time.  This  was  the  game  of  chess.  My  competitors 
were  Nathaniel  Blanchard,  E.  Atherton  Hunt,  and  George 
Minot  Hunt.  We  used  to  meet,  and  I  played  nearly  every 
night  with  one  or  the  other,  and  sometimes  we  spent  nearly  a 
whole  day  on  one  game. 

In  1855,  Paul  Morphy,  a  young  native  of  New  Orleans, 
came  on  the  chess  field  and  astonished  the  world  with  his  won- 
derful skill,  playing  six  games  at  a  time,  blindfolded,  and  nearly 
always  winning.  Morphy  went  to  England  and  won  from  all 
the  celebrities. 

There  was  great  interest  in  the  game  at  the  time  of  which 
I  am  writing,  but  the  three  I  have  mentioned  were  the  only 
ones  in  the  village  beside  myself  who  learned  the  game.  We 
thought  we  played  a  good  game  until  one  night  we  invited  a 
young  man  from  Braintree,  Fred  Ingraham,  who  easily  beat 
us  all  consulting  together.  I  lost  sight  of  Ingraham  for  many 
years,  but  one  day,  forty  years  after  playing  with  him,  an  old 
gentleman  came  to  me,  shook  hands  and  introduced  himself  as 
Fred  Ingraham. 

On  December  26,  i860,  on  his  own  responsibility.  Major 
Robert  Anderson,  in  command  of  the  United  States  forces  in 
Charleston  harbor,  transferred  his  garrison  from  Fort  Moultrie 
to  Fort  Sumter,  and  the  eyes  of  the  whole  country  were  there- 
after fixed  and  all  thoughts  were  concentrated  on  this  single 
point  of  danger. 

A  little  later,  January  9,  1861,  a  futile  attempt  was  made  to 
reinforce  Anderson  with  men  and  supplies.  On  April  12 
Beauregard  opened  fire  on  Fort  Sumter,  and  on  the  evening 


144  Reminiscences. 

of  the  13th  the  fort  capitulated.  The  attack  on  Fort  Sumter 
was  an  assault  on  the  Union. 

The  capture  of  Sumter  had  an  instant  and  tremendous  effect. 
The  States  which  had  seceded  were  thrown  into  a  ferment  of 
triumph ;  the  Northern  States  arose  in  fierce  wrath,  the  Middle 
States  balancing  between  the  two  parties.  Douglas  at  once 
called  on  the  President  and  pledged  himself  to  sustain  him. 
This  generous  action  warded  off  the  peril  of  a  divided  North. 
Douglas's  veins  were  full  of  fighting  blood.  He  was  more 
ready  to  go  to  war  for  the  Union  than  were  a  great  number 
of  Republicans  whose  names  survive  in  the  strong  odor  of 
patriotism.  Douglas  brought  aid  to  Lincoln  which  at  this 
time  was  invaluable.  In  every  town  and  village  there  were 
mass-meetings,  speeches  and  patriotic  resolutions.  Our  village 
was  no  exception. 

April  15,  the  President  issued  his  Proclamation  calling  for 
seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  to  serve  for  three  months. 
The  first  men  to  arrive  at  Washington  came  from  Philadelphia, 
and  almost  entirely  without  arms.  In  Massachusetts  Governor 
John  A.  Andrew  had  been  preparing  the  militia  for  this  crisis, 
and  thoroughly  equipping  his  regiments  for  the  field.  For  this 
the  aristocracy  of  Boston  merrily  ridiculed  him.  Receiving 
the  call  from  Washington  on  April  15,  he  at  once  sent  forth 
his  summons  through  the  State.  At  6  o'clock  on  April  16, 
three  full  regiments  were  ready  to  start,  the  Third,  Fourth, 
and  Sixth. 

On  the  17th  the  Sixth  regiment  started  for  Washington, 
reaching  Baltimore  on  the  19th,  the  anniversary  of  the  battle 
Lexington.  Seven  companies  went  through  the  city  without 
hindrance,  but  the  remaining  three  had  to  leave  the  cars  and 
march,  as  the  tracks  of  the  railroad  were  being  torn  up.  A 
mob  of  "  plug-uglies "  and  secessionists  assaulted  them  with 
paving  stones  and  pistol  shots.  The  troops  fired  upon  their 
assailants,  with  the  result  that  four  soldiers  and  twelve  of  the 


In  the  ^^  Sixties y  145 

rioters  were  killed.  The  troops  reached  Washington  at  5 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  first  armed  rescuers  of  the  Cap- 
ital.    They  were  quartered  in  the  Senate  Chamber  itself. 

There  are  many  to-day  who  will  remember  the  meeting  at 
the  Town  Hall  addressed  by  John  W.  Loud  and  others  of  the 
town,  urging  the  young  men  to  enlist,  and  the  marching  into 
the  hall  of  a  troop  of  boys  headed  by  the  Lintons,  E,  F.,  Au- 
gustus and  P.  Henry,  with  fife  and  drum,  creating  the  greatest 
enthusiasm.  The  Weymouth  Union  Guards,  Company  H, 
Twelfth  Regiment,  M.  V.  M.,  was  organized,  with  James  L. 
Bates,  Captain,  Charles  W.  Hastings  and  Francis  B.  Pratt, 
First  and  Second  Lieutenants.  The  Lintons  and  many  others 
enlisted  in  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  "  Fighting  Colonel "  Blais- 
dell  commanding. 

Company  H  was  encamped  near  the  Town  Hall,  and  it  was 
a  stirring  time  when  they  struck  their  tents  and  marched  down 
the  turnpike  (Washington  street)  to  the  depot,  preparatory 
to  leaving  town,  where  their  relatives  and  friends  gathered  to 
bid  them  good-by,  —  many  for  the  last  time. 

After  my  display  of  fireworks  at  Providence,  my  fireworks 
business  was  gone.  Having  a  family  to  support  I  had  to  find 
something  to  do.  At  that  time  A.  Prescott  Nash,  one  of  our 
bright  men  in  the  village,  was  carrying  on  a  stamping  and  gild- 
ing business,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  my  hand  at  this.  I 
bought  a  small  embossing  and  gilding  press,  obtained  boot 
tops  of  C.  E.  &  R.  A.  Hunt,  and  went  to  work.  In  a  short 
time  I  got  hold  of  the  business  and  was  able  to  do  it  as  well 
as  the  best.  The  front  of  the  boot  was  finished  out  with  a 
colored  sheepskin  top,  which  was  gilded  with  many  devices, 
patriotic  and  otherwise.  I  would  first  "  size  "  the  place  to  be 
gilded  over,  with  the  white  of  an  ^gg^  and  when  it  was  dry, 
would  brush  over  sweet  oil ;  then  from  the  book  of  gold  would 
carefully  take  up  a  leaf  on  a  pad  and  put  it  on  the  oiled  sur- 
face ;  then  with  the  press  properly  heated,  I  would  put  the 


14^  Reminiscences. 

sheepskin  top  under  the  die,  and  complete  the  job  by  the  hand 
lever. 

This  little  business  kept  me  occupied  until  I  received  an 
order  for  fireworks  from  Mr.  Frederick  F.  Hassam,  of  Dor- 
chester, who  at  that  time  was  in  the  cutlery  business  in  a 
store  next  to  the  Old  South  Church  in  Boston.  As  in  Wey- 
mouth, they  were  recruiting  men  for  the  war,  and  in  con- 
nection had  fireworks  to  get  up  the  proper  enthusiasm,  I 
received  several  orders  from  Mr.  Hassam. 

I  did  all  this  work  alone,  for  Linton  had  now  enlisted  and 
gone  into  the  army.  From  this  time  to  the  end  of  the  war 
my  business  continually  increased.  I  made  many  small  works, 
and  these  could  be  taken  out  of  the  shop  and  finished  by  the 
folks  about.  The  soldiers  having  gone  to  the  front,  this  gave 
those  at  home  quite  a  profitable  and  pleasant  work  to  do.  Of 
those  working  for  me  who  enlisted  for  the  war  were  E.  F.  and 
Augustus  Linton  in  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  Francis  Gushing 
and  Charles  R.  Trott  in  the  Forty-second,  and  Samuel  S.  Foye 
in  the  Thirty-fifth.  Trott  was  at  home  working  for  me  in  the 
fall  of  1863,  and  the  Lintons  in  June,  1864.  During  the  war 
George  Cushing  was  with  me,  and  R.  R.  Walker  was  my  fore- 
man. Mr.  Walker  came  to  me  from  the  wharves,  where  he 
had  been  employed  by  Porter  &  Loud  and  afterwards  by  Isaac 
Jackson.  Off  and  on,  Mr.  Walker  was  with  me  many  years ; 
a  hard-working  man,  he  was  always  looking  after  my  interests. 
His  son,  Russell  Walker,  was  also  with  me  a  number  of  years, 
but  at  the  present  time  is  a  successful  business  man  in  the 
West.  As  the  rebellion  drew  near  the  end  my  fireworks  busi- 
ness grew  in  dimensions. 

On  July  4,  1865,  every  town  and  city  in  the  North  was  cel- 
ebrating, and  I  employed  many  workmen,  among  them  W.  G. 
Thayer,  Frank  English,  Henry  Lanergan,  and  my  old  Band 
companion  Adoniram  J.  Bowditch.  Messrs.  Linton  and 
Walker  were  my  foremen. 


In  the  '^Sixties''  147 

In  the  year  1865  was  the  high  tide  in  my  business.  I  then 
manufactured  and  sold  some  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
goods.  At  that  time  I  bought  the  place  where  I  have  since 
lived,  and  becoming  at  once  interested  in  improving  it,  I 
planted  many  trees  which  have  grown  and  given  me  much 
pleasure.  Here  I  became  interested  in  grape-raising.  I 
bought  the  vines  by  the  hundred,  trenching  the  ground  and 
planting  after  the  most  approved  method.  I  also  bought  pear 
trees  in  quantity,  and  had  them  all  growing  finely. 

In  1868  I  became  a  member  of  the  Weymouth  Agricultural 
and  Industrial  Society,  and  at  that  time  was  much  interested 
in  the  growing  of  fruit,  having  also  a  fine  Jersey  cow,  and 
last  but  not  least,  my  roan  mare  "  Muff,"  and  my  colored 
man  Tom  Harris.  I  remember  with  what  pleasure  I  gathered 
my  finest  pears  and  grapes,  looking  them  over  carefully  to  be 
sure  I  had  the  largest  and  best,  for  I  had  to  meet  one  who  was 
just  as  interested  as  myself,  Mr.  Marshall  C.  Dizer,  my  prin- 
cipal competitor.  Others  who  were  interested,  I  remember, 
were  Mr.  Sumner  Torrey  and  Mr.  Eri  T.  Joy.  At  that  time 
good  prizes  were  offered,  and  very  pleasant  it  was  to  see  the 
first  prize  on  my  show  of  fruit. 

Now  while  I  was  interested  in  the  fruit  display,  my  man 
Tom  was  interested  in  the  horse-trots.  I  had  never  cared 
much  for  horses,  and  at  that  time  had  just  bought  a  "gold 
brick,"  which  made  me  tired  of  horse-flesh  in  general.  Tom 
Harris  and  my  roan  mare  Muff  were  synonymous.  Tom  was 
known  from  his  handling  Muff,  and  without  Tom,  Muff  would 
hardly  have  been  known.  On  the  Fair  grounds  at  that  time 
there  were  trials  of  speed  between  horses  owned  by  members 
of  the  Society,  among  whom  were  my  good  friend  A.  S.  White, 
always  a  horse-lover,  J.  H.  Clapp,  Alexis  Torrey,  and  Charles 
Dill  of  Abington. 

Now  these  horse-trots  would  have  been  tame  indeed  if  Tom 
and  Muff  had  been  left  out.    When  once  ahead  with  the  mare» 


148  Reminiscences. 

Tom  could  never  be  passed,  for  he  had  the  most  unearthly  yell 
and  a  long  whip  that  he  would  snap  like  a  fire-cracker.  This 
was  a  sore  trial  for  Mr.  Clapp.  While  Muff  would  always 
stick,  the  other  would  break,  so  Tom  would  win.  Tom's 
slogan  was,  "  Go  it,  Muff,  what  do  I  feed  you  for .?  What  do 
I  feed  you  for  ? " 

When  Tom  brought  Muff  on  the  race-track,  the  rules  ham- 
pered him,  inasmuch  as  he  was  sometimes  deprived  of  his  whip. 
His  yell  he  held,  despite  the  judges,  and  as  my  old  friend  Dan 
Barrows  tells,  the  greatest  day  on  the  track  was  when  Tom 
drove  Muff  to  victory  by  the  aid  of  his  whip.  The  judges 
ruled  him  out,  took  his  whip  away,  and  still  he  won  five  dollars 
with  which  I  bought  him  a  violin.  Poor  Tom,  how  much  we 
thought  of  him.  He  went  to  the  far  West,  and  I  learn  he  has 
prospered.  Muff .?  Well,  I  kept  her  for  years  and  although 
as  sound  as  when  I  bought  her,  I  had  her  shot,  for  I  wanted 
no  one  to  have  her. 

The  fairs  that  I  was  once  much  interested  in,  the  pears,  the 
grapes,  the  apples,  are  all  gone,  but  the  race-track  and  the 
firemen's  muster  still  hold.  Why  should  they  not  continue  ? 
They  are  what  the  people  want  to-day.  Nothing  will  bring  so 
many  together  as  a  horse-trot  and  a  firemen's  muster,  —  "a 
chance  to  bet  your  dollar." 

The  most  satisfying  venture  that  I  went  into  was  my  horse- 
trade,  for  I  was  so  thoroughly  cheated  that  it  cured  me  of 
horse-trading  since,  and  I  have  been  laughed  at  for  having 
been  so  easy  a  guy.  I  owned  two  horses.  My  first  animal  I 
called  "Muffit,"  the  roan  mare  that  Tom  used  to  trot  at  the 
"  Fairs."  She  was  a  little  better  than  three  minutes  on  the 
track  with  Tom's  driving,  but  from  her  sticking  qualities  she 
would  beat  many  a  faster  horse  on  the  road.  Tom  was  all 
right  with  Muff  on  the  road,  where  he  could  use  his  lungs  and 
his  long  whip,  but  on  the  track  he  was  handicapped  by  the 
rules ;  so  to  keep  up  the  necessary  pace  I  must  have  a  faster 


In  the  "  Sixties^  149 

horse.  My  friends  now  came  on  the  field,  and  in  their  hands  I 
became  an  easy  subject.  I  was  told  that  a  lady  in  Worcester 
had  a  fine  horse,  and  just  what  I  desired.  "  Only  eleven  years 
old,"  I  was  told,  and  for  that  reason  he  was  the  more  valuable, 
being  well  broken  and  perfectly  safe  for  a  child  to  drive.  This 
horse  had  been  used  by  the  lady's  husband,  who  had  been  an 
officer  in  the  war,  then  just  over.  Her  husband  being  dead, 
the  lady  had  no  use  for  the  horse  but  would  sell  him  cheap 
if  going  into  kind  hands.  I  snapped  at  the  hook,  and  was 
caught. 

Well  do  I  remember  the  day  when  my  brother  Fred  and  I 
went  to  the  stable  on  Bromfield  street  to  see  this  horse.  He 
was  a  beauty;  having  been  clipped,  his  coat  shone  like  silk. 
He  was  a  tall,  large  animal,  and  seemingly  all  that  was  told  me 
by  my  friends.  To  make  a  long  story  short,  I  bought  the 
horse ;  the  price  was  small  for  so  large  and  valuable  an  animal, 
only  six  hundred  dollars.  I  drew  my  check  and  owned  Prince. 
We  brought  the  horse  home.  On  showing  him  to  Mr.  Samuel 
Burrill,  of  the  firm  of  White  &  Burrill,  he  looked  him  over,  and 
after  sucking  his  teeth  awhile  said,  "  I  think  there  is  too  much 
daylight  under  his  belly." 

Having  been  told  by  my  good  friends  that  the  horse  would 
"  go  in  2,40,"  my  brother  and  I  were  in  a  great  hurry  to  sur- 
prise our  Weymouth  friends,  and  tried  his  pacing  with  Muff. 
At  our  first  trial  we  found  she  was  too  much  for  Prince ;  our 
mutual  friend  seemed  much  surprised.  My  brother  Fred  was 
always  with  me  in  this  affair. 

To  settle  the  question  of  speed  we  took  Prince  to  the  River- 
side track,  and  put  him  into  the  hands  of  Jock  Bowen,  the  well 
known  jockey,  who  drove  the  famous  gelding  Captain  McGowan 
twenty  miles  in  one  hour  in  1865.  Bowen  put  Prince  through 
his  paces  many  times,  but  could  never  get  him  down  to  three 
minutes.  From  this  time,  finding  that  I  had  been  twice  sold, 
I  cared  little  for  the  horse.     Thinking  he  could  be  used  as  a 


ISO  Reminiscences. 

carriage  horse,  I  made  the  best  of  a  bad  bargain,  but  my  friend 
called  often  to  see  Prince. 

One  day  coming  into  the  stable,  my  friend  called  attention 
to  the  horse,  saying  he  had  a  quarter  crack,  and  that  I  should 
have  to  be  very  careful  or  the  horse  would  be  lame.  Knowing 
nothing  about  a  quarter  crack  I  thought  little  more  about  the 
remark  until  my  friend  discovered  that  the  horse  was  blind  in 
one  eye.  As  the  horse  travelled  straight  on  the  street  I 
thought  that  did  no  harm,  until  one  day  poor  old  Prince  fell 
down  in  the  stable.  My  friend  said  this  was  "  blind  staggers." 
This  discovery  ended  the  thing  completely.  Prince  now  had 
all  the  "  horse  ails  "  there  were,  and  nothing  more  was  to  be 
expected. 

All  I  could  do  was  to  sell  the  animal,  and  "do  unto  others 
as  others  had  done  unto  me."  My  brother  Fred  had  a  custo- 
mer in  the  fancy  goods  business,  named  Mudge.  He  had  seen 
and  liked  the  looks  of  Prince,  and  offered  one  hundred  dollars 
in  cash  and  a  watch  worth  one  hundred.     He  got  the  horse. 

Afterwards  this  trade  was  all  explained  to  me.  I  was  told 
how  it  was  done,  and  how  the  old  horse  was  doctored  up  and 
made  to  look  as  good  as  new.  This  transaction  was  brought 
to  my  mind  lately  by  a  horse-trader,  who  told  me  that  Kendall, 
the  principal  in  this  transaction,  is  still  a  noted  horse-trader 
and  one  of  the  sharpest.  This  was  my  first,  last,  and  only 
horse-trade.     Muff  was  bought  for  me  by  my  brother. 

On  the  first  day  of  January,  1863,  the  famous  Emancipation 
Proclamation  was  issued,  the  President  having  waited  for  a 
Union  victory  in  the  field.  It  came  after  the  battle  of  Antie- 
tam,  not  a  satisfactory  victory  but  the  best  that  could  be  had 
at  that  time. 

In  the  autumn  of  1867  I  took  up  an  entirely  new  business, 
the  manufacture  of  ladies'  fans.  In  this  business  everything 
had  to  be  learned,  as  nearly  all  the  fans  were  then  imported 
from  France,  a  few  coming  from  Vienna.     To  do  this  work  I 


In  the  ^*  Sixties r  151 

had  to  put  in  a  boiler  and  engine,  and  saws  and  moulders.  I 
employed  Mr.  Washington  Merritt  and  his  son  William.  The 
elder  Merritt  was  quite  an  inventor,  and  the  younger  a  first- 
class  machinist.  In  a  short  time  I  employed  Joseph  White, 
who  had  been  recommended  to  me  as  a  good  carpenter  by  his 
brother  Amos  S.  White.  Linton,  Trott  and  Foye  were  still 
with  me,  as  I  kept  my  fireworks  business  all  the  time  I  was  in 
the  fan  business,  working  sometimes  on  fans  and  sometimes 
on  fireworks.  For  a  little  time  Linton  kept  my  books,  until  I 
employed  my  brother  Ebenezer.  For  myself  I  was  continu- 
ally experimenting ;  in  fact  the  whole  thing  was  an  experiment 
from  beginning  to  end. 

I  used  wood  for  the  fan-sticks,  with  linen  and  silk  for  the 
tops.  The  wood  principally  used  was  "horn  beam,"  as  we 
called  it,  called  gum-tree  in  the  South.  These  I  used  to  scour 
the  South  Shore  for,  the  trees  growing  very  scattering  in  our 
woods.  The  linen  and  silk  I  obtained  from  abroad.  This  was 
a  trying  time  for  me,  as  I  was  always  in  the  dark,  experiment- 
ing from  morning  to  night.  I  had  to  learn  the  art  of  dyeing, 
what  chemicals  would  die  brown,  what  black,  and  how  to  use 
them,  and  then  I  had  to  learn  the  art  of  gilding,  polishing,  etc. 
Oftentimes  I  carried  the  work  home  to  study.  As  I  was  about 
all  this,  time  went  on,  and  as  I  have  said  I  continued  my  fire- 
works. 

Now  comes  the  strange  ending.  Linton,  who  had  entered 
into  this  affair  and  did  much  of  the  work,  that  night  "  folded 
his  tent  and  silently  stole  away  " — where,  I  could  not  imagine  ; 
but  after  many  days  I  learned  of  his  whereabouts.  He  had 
gone  to  New  York  and  into  the  employ  of  my  greatest  com- 
petitor. 

If  this  had  been  his  only  unfaithful  work,  I  could  have  for- 
given him,  but  he  had  many  brothers  who  at  times  worked  for 
me.  To  these,  when  out  of  employ,  he  gave  my  fireworks  re- 
ceipts, that  these  receipts  might  be  an  inducement  for  my  com- 


152  Reminiscences. 

petitors  to  hire  them.  Some  weeks  later,  Trott,  another  of  my 
workmen,  stole  away,  and  a  little  time  after,  Foye  made  an  ex- 
cuse to  go  "to  see  his  sister,"  and  departed.  Of  these,  Linton 
remained  in  New  York,  but  Trott  and  Foye,  like  "bad  pennies, 
returned."     They  had  been  hired  from  my  employ  by  Linton, 

"  Are  these  the  thanks  we  owe  ? 
Is  this  the  kind  return  ?  " 

I  remember  it  troubled  me  much  at  the  time,  to  think  that 
these  men,  who  had  been  boys  with  me,  should  have  done  so 
mean  a  thing.  I  have  had  the  same  happen  many  times  since. 
Joseph  White  seemed  to  have  the  impression  that  this  new 
business  I  had  taken  up  was  going  to  be  very  profitable,  and 
induced  his  brother  to  take  it  up.  He  was  in  my  pay  when  he 
was  experimenting  and  devising  ways  to  avoid  certain  patents 
which  I  had  on  my  methods.  When  this  came  to  my  knowl- 
edge I  discharged  him,  and  in  a  little  time  a  new  company  • — 
the  White  Brothers,  fan  manufacturers  —  began  business  as 
my  competitors,  Linton  in  New  York,  being  all  this  time  in 
correspondence,  securing  them  agents.  This  made  bad  work 
for  me,  as  the  Whites  were  continually  hiring  my  best  men 
away  by  the  offer  of  more  pay ;  the  price  paid  to  men  of  or- 
dinary capacity  was  advanced  from  twelve  to  fifteen  and  twenty 
dollars  per  week.  Finally  the  business  settled  down,  my  com- 
petitors making  the  cheaper  goods,  while  I  made  the  best  qual- 
ity for  the  same  buyers. 

July  4,  1868,  I  got  the  idea  that  I  would  rename  the  square 
near  me,  at  that  time  called  "Binney's  Corner."  So  I  had  a 
sign-board  made,  and  painted  on  it  "  Lincoln  Square,"  and 
nailed  it  on  one  of  the  trees.  In  the  evening  we  had  a  num- 
ber of  speakers;  one  I  remember  was  Judge  James  Humphrey, 
who  afterwards  had  lunch  with  Mr.  M.  T.  Reed  near  by.  With 
all,  we  had  a  display  of  fireworks.  The  affair  was  a  success, 
for  Lincoln  Square,  born  that  night,  still  lives. 


Chapter  V.     In  the  "Seventies." 


URING  the  French  and  Prussian  war  (i  870-1) 
no  goods  could  be  shipped  from  Paris ;  conse- 


quently the  prices  in  this  country  were  at  their 
highest,  and  my  goods  were  eagerly  sought  for 
by  the  fan-dealers  of  New  York.  During  the 
first  few  years  of  the  business  I  had  no  trouble  in  disposing  of 
all  I  could  make. 

The  people  I  dealt  with  were  large  Jew  importing  houses  : 
I  had  always  been  prejudiced  against  the  Jews,  but  I  found 
them  fine  men,  and  much  superior  to  the  Gentiles  that  I  had 
dealt  with  before.  Finally  I  got  the  business  running  quite 
smoothly,  from  the  high  prices  on  account  of  the  foreign  war  ; 
and  the  profits  were  seemingly  large,  but  were  continually 
eaten  up  by  the  cost  of  building  new  machines.  I  soon  found 
that  a  business  subject  to  fashion  was  not  profitable  to  follow  ; 
I  would  have  a  machine  to  make  large  fans,  some  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches  in  length,  and  the  fashion  would  call  for  short 
fans,  and  the  machines  would  have  to  be  all  built  over.  Mr. 
William  Merritt  was  always  busy  on  this. 

Now,  in  this  work  I  was  an  enthusiast.  It  mattered  little 
what  the  cost,  for  I  was  determined  to  make  the  best,  and  suc- 
ceeded so  that  I  made  gold  fans  which  I  sold  for  nine  dollars 
each.     In  this  I  was  aided  by  my  friend  Mr.  Henry  Stetson, 


154  Reminiscences. 

then  a  machinist  in  Brookline,  who  carried  out  many  of  my 
ideas,  and  built  for  me  a  carving  machine  (now  rusting  out  in 
my  stable)  which  did  wonderful  work,  and  cost  me  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  As  I  have  said,  my  motto  was  "  Never  mind  the 
cost,  it  must  be  done." 

In  the  height  of  the  business  I  employed  many  hands,  both 
men  and  women ;  in  gilding  fan-sticks,  girls  were  employed- 
It  was  light,  pretty  work,  putting  the  tops  of  linen  and  silk  on 
the  sticks  of  the  folding  and  feather  fans.  As  I  walk  about 
town  to-day  I  once  in  a  while  meet  one  of  the  then  pretty  girls 
that  were  employed  by  me,  now  a  grandmother. 

When  everything  seemed  to  be  going  prosperously,  I  was 
induced  in  an  evil  moment,  against  my  best  judgment,  to  take 
for  my  selling  agents  a  new  firm,  just  beginning  a  commission 
and  importing  fancy  goods  business  in  Boston.  This  was  the 
omega  of  my  fan  business.  The  firms  I  had  dealt  with  in  New 
York  were  large,  wealthy  houses,  and  paid  me  cash  on  receipt 
of  the  goods  ;  the  men  I  now  went  with  might  have  had  money 
once,  but  none  while  I  was  with  them.  Everything  was  now 
changed.  To  get  money  I  took  their  notes  for  discount,  giv- 
ing one  of  mine  in  exchange,  and  a  fearfully  mixed-up  matter 
it  was  to  one  like  myself,  who  had  had  little  financial  experi- 
ence. How  well  do  I  remember  the  times  I  went  over  to  see 
the  old  bookkeeper  and  financial  man  of  this  firm,  Peter  Law- 
son,  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  pay  the  note  coming  due  the 
following  day. 

Well,  the  end  came  when,  having  a  note  to  pay,  I  went  after 
the  money ;  I  was  offered  a  note  to  get  discounted  by  my 
friends  Howe  &  French.  Now  Howe  &  French  were  my 
bankers,  and  having  implicit  faith  in  E.  S.  H.,  they  discounted 
all  the  notes  brought  them  of  the  firm  I  was  now  dealing  with. 

Mr.  John  C.  Howe  was  the  friend  of  a  lifetime,  and  know- 
ing the  situation,  or  thinking  I  did,  I  wanted  him  to  take  no 
more  risk  on  my  account.     I  told  Mr.  C I  would  take  no 


In  the  **  Seventies r  155 

more  notes  for  my  friends  to  discount.  He  said,  "  We  have  no 
money  "  ;  then  I  said  that  I  would  let  the  note  go  to  protest, 
and  it  did.  This  was  the  end  of  the  fan  business  as  relating 
to  myself. 

My  name  was  on  notes  to  a  large  amount  of  the  firm  I  had 
been  with,  and  they  were  in  all  the  country  banks  about,  on 
my  suspending  business.  I  was  blamed  by  that  firm,  as  it 
caused  their  failure,  and  others  connected  with  them. 

The  fan  business  was  taken  up  by  my  brother  Fred  and  Mr. 
Frank  Allen,  and  after  one  year  it  proved  a  failure ;  but  Mr. 
Allen  continued  in  it  while  he  lived. 

While  what  I  have  been  telling  was  happening,  I  was  still 
doing  my  fireworks  business,  knowing  that  this  was  the  staff 
I  must  later  rely  on.  Soon  after  I  had  begim  the  fan  business 
I  employed  Charles  Linton,  who  had  obtained  a  little  knowl- 
edge of  the  business  from  his  brother  Edward  F.  Linton,  who 
was  with  me  some  six  months.  He  came  from  his  brother  in 
New  York,  and  I  recollect  that  Mr.  Joseph  Doyle,  whom  I 
afterwards  employed  as  bookkeeper,  came  with  him.  Doyle 
was  a  fine  fellow,  and  well  educated,  and  I  never  could  under- 
stand how  he  should  be  the  simple  bookkeeper  he  was.  After 
being  with  me  several  years,  he  went  to  Providence  and  en- 
gaged in  the  enamelling  business.  After  six  months  I  was 
through  with  Linton.  He  knew  little  of  the  business,  and 
was  continually  tinkering,  being  by  trade  a  machinist.  After 
him  came  Russell  Walker,  who  I  remember  manufactured  per- 
fumery, in  company  with  Mr.  Wales,  of  Braintree,  in  one  of 
my  shops. 

My  fireworks  business  seemed  to  be  hung  up  completely  till 
1876,  when  it  again  became  my  only  regular  business,  the  fan 
business  have  gone  to  trouble  my  neighbors, —  my  brother 
Fred  and  Frank  Allen,  who  used  my  buildings. 

The  year  1876,  being  the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  our 
independence,  was  looked  ahead  to  as  a  time  when  an  immense 


I  $6  Reminiscences. 

amount  of  fireworks  would  be  used.  All  the  makers  filled  their 
storehouses,  and  in  consequence  enough  were  made  for  1876  to 
last  several  years  afterwards.  At  this  time  I  became  acquainted 
with  Banfield  &  Forristall  of  Boston,  who  became  my  agents. 

Returning  to  my  financial  troubles  in  the  fan  business ; 
when  they  became  generally  known  in  the  village,  I  found  at 
once  who  were  my  friends  in  adversity.  I  realized  the  truth 
of  Poor  Richard's  saying,  "  When  I  have  a  cow  and  sheep,  the 
neighbors  say,  *  Good  morning.'  "  I  now  had  no  cow,  neither 
had  I  a  sheep,  nor  neighbors  to  say,  "  Good  morning."  In 
the  village  I  had  no  neighbors,  —  my  friends  were  all  out  of 
town. 

Mr.  John  C.  Howe,  of  the  firm  of  Howe  &  French  of  Bos- 
ton, was  my  strong  friend  at  this  time,  as  always.  I  recollect 
he  always  defended  me  against  the  little  petty  gossip  of  my 
extravagance  which  came  from  the  village.  It  was  owing  to 
Mr.  Howe's  good  advice  that  I  saved  my  home,  for  when  buy- 
ing it,  he  had  insisted  that  I  should  put  it  in  my  wife's  name, 
telling  me  that  every  man  taking  the  chances  of  business 
should  do  this.  After  my  troubles  I  found  many  of  my  things 
were  already  spoken  for  by  my  neighbors.  One  was  going  to 
have  my  poor  old  horse  Muff,  if  sold  low  enough.  I  would 
have  shot  her  first ! 

My  friend  Mr.  Howe  came  to  my  help,  giving  me  the  money 
to  compromise  with  my  creditors.  This  relieved  me  of  further 
trouble.  If  it  had  taken  away  all  remembrance  of  this  affair  I 
would  have  loved  my  neighbors  more  to-day ;  tell  me  about 
"  loving  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  go  through  my  experience, 
and  see  if  you  can. 

Having  settled  up  the  fan  business,  I  now  gave  my  attention 
to  the  fireworks  trade,  which  had  become  quite  small  from 
neglect.  This  had  now  lost  all  its  attraction  for  me,  as  there 
seemed  little  more  for  me  to  learn,  and  unless  I  was  experi- 
menting, it  was  dull  work. 


In  the  ^^  Seventies r  157 

In  the  autumn  of  1877  came  my  opportunity.  One  day  in 
the  summer  two  men  came  to  my  factory,  having  a  machine 
designed  for  throwing  a  life-line  to  shipwrecked  men.  It  was 
on  the  principle  of  sticking  an  apple  on  a  whip-stick  and  whirl- 
ing it  around,  as  I  remember  doing  when  a  boy.  The  machine 
was  made  with  a  heavy,  strong,  spiral  spring,  wound  up  by  a 
crank,  and  attached  to  the  spring  was  a  rod.  When  the  ma- 
chine was  ready  for  use,  the  rod  was  drawn  back  towards  the 
rear  and  held  by  a  trigger ;  a  tube,  loaded  at  one  end  with  lead, 
was  slipped  on  to  the  end  of  the  rod.  To  this  loaded  tube  was 
attached  the  life-line,  wound  up  in  a  ball,  the  line  drawing  from 
the  centre. 

The  men  wanted  me  to  make  a  rocket  that  could  be  attached 
to  the  rod,  the  same  as  the  weighted  tube,  that  would  be  lighted 
on  pulling  the  trigger,  and,  after  the  force  of  the  spring  was 
expended,  would  still  carry  the  line  by  the  combustion  of  the 
rocket.  I  made  the  rocket  as  they  wished,  and  the  line  was 
carried  much  farther  than  by  the  weight  alone.  The  men 
were  much  pleased  at  the  distance  reached,  but  had  had  much 
trouble  to  wind  the  line  so  that  it  would  not  tangle  in  going 
out. 

I  had  acquired  a  knowledge  of  paraffine  from  using  it  for 
candles  in  a  lantern  I  had  made;  this  gave  me  the  idea  of 
running  the  line  through  hot  paraffine.  That  worked  to  a 
charm,  and  when  the  men  came  again  I  had  some  coils  already 
made,  and,  on  trial,  the  line  ran  out  smoothly  and  without  a 
tangle. 

Now,  while  the  men  were  away,  the  thought  came  that  I 
could  make  a  great  improvement  by  using  gunpowder  instead 
of  a  spring ;  so  I  obtained  small  thread,  and  after  paraffining 
wound  it  in  coils  on  a  spindle.  By  removing  the  spindle  I 
could  draw  the  line  from  the  centre.  I  then  took  one  of  my 
brass  tubes  used  in  making  fireworks-cases,  loaded  one  end 
with  lead,  and  then  forced  the  coil  of  paraffined  line  into  the 


158  Reminisceftces . 

shell,  having  fastened  the  outside  end  of  the  line  to  the  lead  in 
the  bottom.  This  was  my  first  projectile.  For  a  gun  I  found 
a  tube  that  would  admit  the  shot  or  projectile  easily,  and 
strengthened  it  by  driving  another  tube  over  it. 

This  tubular  gun  was  what  I  always  used  afterwards,  as  it 
had  great  strength  for  its  weight.  The  gun  having  been  im- 
provised and  a  coil  of  line  to  be  held  in  the  hand  prepared,  I 
took  the  affair  down  into  the  meadow  near  by,  attaching  the 
two  ends  of  the  lines  together,  the  one  in  the  shot  and  the 
other  for  the  hand,  placing  the  shot  so  that  the  line  came  from 
the  muzzle  of  the  gun,  and  all  was  ready.  This  gun  was 
mounted  on  a  log,  to  take  up  the  recoil.  On  firing  the  gun 
the  shot  went  a  long  way,  the  line  paying  out  as  it  went  from 
the  coil  held  in  the  hand.  This  first  trial  was  a  perfect  suc- 
cess, showing  that  the  principle  was  right.  All  I  had  to  do 
was  to  perfect  and  adapt  the  gun  for  the  purpose  intended, 
life-saving. 

To  return  to  my  friends  with  the  spring  gun.  On  their  next 
visit  I  told  them  what  I  could  do  with  gunpowder  as  a  spring, 
and  taking  the  little  gun  out  into  the  field,  shot  the  line  some 
thousand  feet,  to  their  surprise.  I  think  they  never  tried  their 
spring  machine  again  at  my  place,  after  I  showed  what  could 
be  done  with  gunpowder.  The  inventor  of  the  spring-projec- 
tile was  Mr,  Peck ;  his  associate's  name  was  Tuttle,  A  little 
time  after  they  came  to  Weymouth  I  learned  of  their  being  at 
the  beaches,  throwing  the  line  at  so  much  a  shot. 

Being  now  thoroughly  interested  I  was  not  idle  a  moment, 
but  obtained  tubing  and  made  a  larger  gun,  more  perfected 
than  the  first,  I  had  a  long  tin  projectile  made,  with  four 
small  wings  on  the  end  projecting  from  the  gun.  With  this 
improved  gun  and  projectile  I  found  I  could  throw  the  line 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  feet,  and  never  break  the  line. 
Breaking  the  line  was  the  great  trouble  with  other  projectiles 
in  use. 


In  the  **  Seventies y  159 

As  I  had  now  obtained  the  gun  and  projectile  so  that  I 
could  be  sure  of  its  action,  I  must  find  those  interested  in  such 
matters.  I  went  to  Boston  one  day,  and  on  inquiring  was  told 
that  Captain  R.  B.  Forbes  was  the  one  I  should  see,  I  went 
to  the  office  of  John  M,  Forbes,  his  brother,  and  he  told  me  at 
once  that  I  did  not  want  to  see  Captain  Forbes,  but  Captain 
Edward  Faucon,  whom  I  could  find  at  the  "  China  Insurance 
Office  "  in  State  street.  I  there  found  Captain  Faucon.  He 
was  an  old  sea-captain,  who  had  commanded  the  ship  "  Pil- 
grim "  when  Richard  H.  Dana,  Jr.,  was  before  the  mast.  At 
one  time  Captain  Hall  was  his  mate. 

The  old  captain  was  a  character,  and  I  had  a  good  deal  to  do 
with  him,  as  he  looked  after  all  the  apparatus  of  the  Humane 
Society.  Given  his  own  way,  he  was  a  pleasant  man,  telling 
me  many  of  his  sea  stories.  He  was  always  on  the  quarter- 
deck. Telling  him  my  story  he  became  interested  at  once  and 
directed  me  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Humane  Society. 

Not  many  days  after,  I  received  a  word  from  Mr.  B.  W. 
Crowninshield,  appointing  the  day  when  the  Trustees  would 
come  to  my  place  to  witness  my  experiments  with  the  new 
projectile.  Mr.  Crowninshield  was  the  executive  of  the  So- 
ciety. This  was  a  red  letter  day  in  my  life,  never  to  be  for- 
gotten. Those  who  came  to  Weymouth  that  day  were  Mr. 
Thomas  Motley,  brother  of  John  Lothrop  Motley,  the  histo- 
rian of  the  Netherlands,  and  Minister  to  England  in  the  first 
year  of  Grant's  administration,  upon  Charles  Sumner's  recom- 
mendation ;  Mr.  B.  W.  Crowninshield ;  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence, 
Jr.,  whose  father  Abbott  Lawrence  had  been  a  former  Minis- 
ter to  England ;  Mr.  Henry  A.  Whitney,  president  of  the 
Providence  Railroad ;  Captain  Edward  Faucon ;  with  them  two 
boys,  one,  Robert  Bacon,  afterwards  secretary  to  J.  P.  Mor- 
gan in  New  York,  and  now  the  Assistant  Secretary  of 
State,  and  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Sproul,  a  reporter  for  the  "  Boston 
Herald." 


i6o  Reminiscences. 

These  gentlemen  met  at  my  home  and  had  lunch  before 
going  to  my  factory.  When  they  saw  the  size  of  the  gun  and 
the  range  laid  out,  they  could  hardly  realize  what  I  had  told 
them.  I  shot  the  gun  some  five  times,  and  the  projectiles  fell 
each  time  within  twenty-five  feet  of  full  fifteen  hundred  feet 
distant. 

The  gentlemen  were  enthusiastic,  and  ran  like  boys  across 
the  fields  and  up  the  hill  where  the  shot  landed.  After  the 
trial  all  returned  to  my  house,  sat  down,  talked  the  thing  over, 
and  there  voted  me  five  hundred  dollars  that  I  might  get  a 
good  gun,  and  to  enable  me  to  continue  my  experiments. 

"  Now,  I  have  a  cow  and  sheep,  my  neighbors  say  '  Good 
Morning.'  "  At  once  I  ordered  the  brass  tubing,  and  had  a 
three-inch  gun  built.  This  was  the  calibre  I  afterwards  used, 
and  the  line  I  made  of  strong  linen  shoe  thread,  laid  in  differ- 
ent sizes.  After  all  was  ready  I  notified  Mr.  Motley,  one  of 
the  Trustees  of  the  Society. 

The  Humane  Society  always  had  the  use  of  the  steamer 
"  Daisy,"  of  the  U.  S.  Lightship  Board,  Captain  Ames.  When 
they  were  having  trials  of  my  gun  they  would  go  down  the 
harbor  to  some  of  the  islands.  On  these  occasions  it  was  the 
custom  for  one  member  to  furnish  all  the  food,  while  another 
would  find  the  wines,  so  there  would  be  no  expense  charged 
to  the  Society. 

I  remember  one  gentleman,  Mr.  James  Davis,  president  of 
the  Revere  Copper  Co.,  always  found  the  wine,  as  he  was 
called  the  best  judge  of  the  article  in  Boston.  Dr.  Lothrop, 
minister  of  the  Brattle  Street  Church,  a  member  of  the  Soci- 
ety, was  always  of  these  parties.  Once  we  had  Judge  Horace 
Gray.  On  getting  aboard  I  remember  his  saying,  "Is  that 
the  little  thing?"  —  referring  to  my  gun.  In  these  trials 
down  the  harbor  there  was  everything  to  make  it  pleasant,  — 
everything  good  to  eat  and  drink,  and  the  best  of  company ; 
and  better  still,  the  projectile  never  failed  to  carry  the  line. 


In  the  ^^  Seventies y  i6i 

In  the  autumn  of  1878  I  was  induced  by  the  members  of 
the  Humane  Society  to  put  my  life-saving  apparatus  in  the 
Mechanics'  Fair,  to  show  the  officers  of  this  Society  the  work- 
ings of  the  gun  and  projectile.  Mr.  Simmons,  then  the  U.  S. 
Collector  at  the  Boston  Custom  House,  loaned  the  Revenue 
cutter  "  Hamlin,"  taking  all  down  to  Hull,  and  landing  at  the 
old  steamboat  landing.  At  that  point  we  placed  the  gun  and 
shot  across  the  water  to  where  now  stands  the  Pemberton 
Hotel.  The  trial  was  a  great  success,  and  I  remember  with 
pleasure  that  Mr.  Motley  told  me  I  was  awarded  a  gold  medal. 

From  the  over-production  of  fireworks  in  1876,  very  little 
was  done  in  this  business  the  year  or  two  following,  and  I  was 
put  to  my  wits'  end  to  get  money  to  pay  my  household  ex- 
penses. 

My  first  invention  was  a  gelatine  lantern,  to  hang  on  Christ- 
mas trees.  That  did  not  amount  to  much,  but  brought  me  in 
a  little  money.  Then  I  invented  a  colored  shell  to  fire  from 
an  ordinary  shot  gun,  upon  which  I  obtained  a  patent,  and 
through  my  friend,  the  late  John  P.  Lovell,  sold  the  same  to 
a  house  in  New  York  for  some  seven  hundred  dollars.  This 
was  a  great  help  to  me. 

Going  to  my  agents  one  day,  Mr.  Banfield  showed  me  a 
little  firework  called  a  sun-wheel,  made  in  England,  saying 
that  I  could  make  as  good  a  thing,  he  would  give  an  order  for 
all  I  could  produce.  As  small  a  thing  as  it  was,  it  took  me 
several  weeks'  continual  study  to  make  it,  but  I  finally  suc- 
ceeded to  Banfield's  satisfaction.  The  experimenting  I  did  on 
this  little  sun-wheel  led  to  other  work  in  the  same  direction, 
and  resulted  in  my  getting  up  an  entirely  new  firework  which 
I  called  the  dragon-wheel.  This  was  a  fine  thing.  I  drew  up 
the  specifications  myself  without  the  aid  of  a  patent  agent,  and 
had  it  patented.  I  was  doing  this  work  at  the  same  time  that 
I  was  engaged  on  the  life-saving  projectile,  and  a  far  more 
valuable  thing  it  was  as  a  money-getter. 


l62  Reminiscences. 

The  sun  and  dragon-wheels  I  sold  all  over  the  country,  in- 
troducing me  to  a  trade  some  of  which  I  hold  to-day. 

Mr.  B.  W.  Crowninshield,  the  executive  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Humane  Society,  knowing  Mr.  Kimball,  at  that  time  the 
Superintendent  of  the  United  States  Life  Saving  Department, 
requested  him  to  send  some  one  to  see  the  experiments  that  I 
was  making.  I  have  now  before  me  Lieut.  Lyle's  letter  to  me 
saying :  "I  have  been  requested  by  General  Superintendent 
Kimball  to  visit  Weymouth  and  see  your  new  apparatus  for 
throwing  lines.  Will  you  please  say  when  it  will  be  most 
convenient  1 " 

This  letter  came  in  February,  1878,  and  in  a  short  time 
afterward  he  came  to  my  place.  For  a  gun  I  had  only  a  two- 
inch  brass  tube  mounted  on  a  log,  which  was  the  same  I  had 
shown  the  gentlemen  of  the  Humane  Society  from  Boston. 
Now,  in  this  matter  the  gun  was  of  no  account,  but  it  was 
the  projectile  where  the  new  principle  came  in. 

I  recollect  at  the  time  of  Lieut.  Lyle's  coming  I  fired  a 
few  shots,  and  at  the  last  one  blew  out  the  breech  of  the  little 
gun.  There  was,  however,  sufficient  done  to  show  Lieut.  Lyle 
the  principle.  He  wrote  up  his  report,  dwelling  mostly  upon 
the  imperfection  of  the  gun. 

Before  going  further  I  will  tell  who  this  Lieut.  Lyle  was. 
He  was  First  Lieutenant  of  Ordnance,  U.  S.  A.,  and  had 
about  this  time  perfected  a  gun  and  projectile  that  the  Govern- 
ment was  then  putting  on  all  their  stations.  The  projectile  he 
invented  was  a  long  shot  with  an  iron  rod  and  a  loop  at  the 
end  to  fasten  the  line.  The  old  shot,  which  this  displaced  in 
the  service,  was  simply  a  round  twelve-pounder  shot,  with  a 
staple  cast  in  to  fasten  the  line,  and  fired  from  a  short  mortar, 
which  often  breaking  the  line  would  carry  it  but  a  short  way. 
I  had  much  to  do  with  Lieut.  Lyle,  and  found  him  a  very 
pleasant  man  outside  of  this  immediate  business  that  we  were 
engaged  in. 


In  the  "  Seventies^  163 

As  I  have  said,  the  Humane  Society  voted  me  $500  to  per- 
fect my  invention.  At  once  I  went  to  work  and  had  a  good 
gun  made  at  the  South  Boston  foundry,  three-inch  calibre, 
that  I  always  held  to.  This  first  gun  had  a  cast  bronze  jacket 
with  a  bronze  breech-pin,  mounted  on  an  expensive  mahogany 
carriage,  and  was  the  only  one  I  had  made  this  way.  After- 
wards I  simply  used  a  brass  tube,  and  had  another  shrunk  on 
at  the  breech  and  an  iron  breech-pin,  mounted  on  a  heavy 
plank  with  handles  at  the  side  for  carrying.  Lieut.  Lyon,  one 
of  the  Government  Ordnance  Board,  was  stationed  at  the 
South  Boston  Iron  Works  at  this  time,  and  helped  me  some- 
what in  the  construction  of  the  carriage  for  my  gun.  Lieut, 
(now  Captain  Lyon  of  the  U.  S.  S.  "  Olympia  ")  was  a  fine, 
handsome  young  fellow  at  that  time,  and  became  much  inter- 
ested in  my  invention.  Mr.  Edwin  Reed  and  his  son,  John 
Reed,  then  living  in  Braintree,  were  those  that  I  had  most  to 
do  with  at  the  foundry.  Mr.  Edwin  Reed  came  with  Lieut. 
Lyle  to  Weymouth,  to  witness  the  first  trial. 

Years  before,  when  the  Massachusetts  Humane  Society  was 
first  organized  in  1791,  the  Royal  Lifeboat  Association  of  En- 
gland made  the  former  Society  a  present  of  a  gun  and  the 
complete  apparatus  for  throwing  lines  to  shipwrecked  vessels. 
To  return  the  favor,  I  had  made  for  the  Society  a  fine  gun, 
and  a  legend  engraved  on  it,  to  send  to  the  Royal  Association 
in  London.  After  all  was  ready,  the  question  came  up  how 
the  Society  across  the  water  could  be  shown  the  workings  of 
this  new  method.  Telling  them  I  would  go  to  show  the  thing, 
they  at  once  accepted  my  offer.  Having  a  son  in  London  at 
that  time,  it  gave  me  just  the  opportunity  desired  of  seeing 
him. 

The  gun  and  projectiles  were  packed  in  a  fine  mahogany 
case,  with  an  engraved  brass  plate  on  the  cover,  and  with  this 
gun  I  took  the  one  I  had  made  to  experiment  with,  and  a 
number  of  projectiles  for  use.     On  January  27,  1878,  I  went 


164  Reminiscences. 

into  the  "  China  Office  "  and  met  Mr.  Motley,  who  gave  me 
the  money  I  should  need,  in  English  currency.  My  passage 
cost  the  Society  nothing,  as  the  Cunard  Steamship  Co.  gave 
me  passage  out  and  back,  considering  the  business  I  was  on. 

Mr.  Motley  told  me  that  everyone,  servant  or  otherwise, 
would  expect  a  fee  if  they  did  anything  for  me,  and  said,  giv- 
ing me  a  lot  of  small  change,  "  Don't  give  anyone  more  than 
threepence,  or  your  money  won't  hold  out.  They  will  be  sat- 
isfied," and  adding,  "  It  is  all  I  give," 

We  now  went  over  to  East  Boston  to  get  aboard  the  steamer 
"  Marathon,"  She  was  only  three  thousand  tons  burthen,  but 
to  my  unsophisticated  self  seemed  immense.  On  getting 
aboard  Mr.  Motley  introduced  me  to  Mr.  Ogden  Codman,  a 
Boston  gentleman  going  abroad,  I  remember  him  with  pleas- 
ure, for  he  did  much  to  make  the  long  voyage  pleasant ;  each 
night  before  turning  in  he  would  have  the  steward  bring  in 
the  Scotch  whiskey  and  jug  of  hot  water,  and  we  would  talk 
of  those  at  home.  No  doubt  Mr.  Motley  had  told  him  to  have 
an  eye  to  me,  and  make  me  as  comfortable  as  he  could. 

Bidding  good-by  to  my  friends,  we  were  tugged  down  the 
harbor  and  started  on  our  long  voyage.  Aside  from  myself 
and  Mr.  Codman  there  were  but  three  other  passengers,  a  sea 
captain  and  his  wife,  and  a  woman  who  crossed  the  sea  to  buy 
for  some  millinery  establishment.  When  not  eating,  this 
woman  was  curled  up  in  one  corner  of  the  saloon,  asleep  — 
she  an  old  traveller. 

The  sea-captain  and  his  wife  were  most  entertaining  people, 
telling  of  their  sea  life,  they  having  gone  together  each  voyage. 
When  her  husband  was  sick,  the  captain's  wife  navigated  the 
ship  as  well  as  he  could.  There  being  so  few  passengers,  the 
officers  sat  at  the  same  table  with  us  in  the  dining  saloon. 
All  were  true-born  Englishmen,  dropping  their  h's  as  though 
they  were  of  the  least  account.  I  liked  these  men  much,  as 
they  were  always  ready  to  talk  when  off  duty,  and  did  much 


In  the  ^^  Seventies."  165 

to  relieve  the  tedium  of  the  long  passage.  I  had  a  slight 
nausea  from  the  time  I  went  on  board  the  ship  till  I  got  off, 
not  wholly  from  the  motion  of  the  ship,  but  from  the  smell  of 
hot  oil  on  the  engines,  and  the  cooking  of  the  food.  Rarely 
did  I  sit  at  the  table  till  the  porridge  was  removed,  the  sight 
of  which  made  me  sick.  Finally  I  settled  down  on  a  steady 
diet  of  sardines  in  oil,  Stilton  cheese,  and  hard  bread,  to  the 
surprise  of  all  at  the  table. 

The  ship  "  Marathon  "  was  an  old  vessel,  and  had  been  used 
by  the  Cunard  Company,  formerly,  as  a  yacht  down  in  the 
Mediterranean.  The  saloon  and  all  the  staterooms  were  above 
deck,  unlike  our  steamships  of  to-day.  It  being  cold,  and  the 
sun  seldom  shining,  the  only  comfortable  place  on  deck  was 
around  the  great  smoke-stacks,  where  the  few  passengers  usu- 
ally gathered  to  keep  warm.  There  being  little  sunshine,  the 
rough  sea  was  of  a  grey  hue,  cold  and  cheerless. 

The  old  "  Marathon  "  could  not  reach  over  two  or  three  seas, 
as  the  great  steamers  of  to-day,  but  took  only  one,  pitching  up 
and  down,  and  at  times  taking  water  over  the  bows.  How- 
ever, no  one  was  alarmed,  as  the  captain  said  she  was  the 
safest  ship  that  crossed  the  ocean.  In  going,  we  stopped  at 
Queenstown  several  hours,  which  was  the  only  sight  of  Ireland, 
with  one  exception,  I  ever  had.  As  we  approached  Liverpool, 
I  remember  the  tug  coming  to  meet  us,  and  the  passengers 
getting  ready  to  leave  the  ship  after  their  long  voyage  of  four- 
teen days.     I  was  a  lonesome  man  in  a  strange  country. 

Just  then  I  heard  a  voice,  as  from  heaven,  inquiring  for  Mr. 
Hunt  from  Boston.  It  was  a  pleasant  voice  I  assure  you,  and 
the  inquirer  was  Mr.  Sherlock,  who  had  been  telegraphed  to 
by  my  good  friend  Thomas  Motley,  telling  him  that  I  was  on 
the  ship,  and  asking  him  to  look  after  me  and  see  to  my  lug- 
gage getting  through  the  customs,  etc. 

Bidding  adieu  to  the  few  passengers,  I  saw  none  ever  after- 
wards.    Arriving  in  Liverpool  on  Saturday  morning,  and  hav- 


1 66  Reminiscences. 

ing  been  directed  by  Mr.  Motley  to  the  Adelphi  Hotel,  there  I 
remained  over  Sunday.  This  hotel,  where  Boston  people  usu- 
ally stopped  on  their  way  to  London,  was  the  finest  of  all  in 
Liverpool.  As  I  walked  around  the  hotel  on  the  first  Saturday 
evening,  everything  was  so  new  to  me  and  yet  all  was  so  old, 
so  quiet,  so  orderly  j  no  one  seemed  in  a  hurry ;  the  waiters 
appeared  like  well-bred  clergymen,  with  so  much  dignity  and 
gravity  did  they  carry  themselves,  never  smiling,  but  always 
solemn.  One  was  so  like  the  other  that  I  was  constantly  mix- 
ing up  the  gentleman  with  the  servant. 

In  the  great  reading-room  I  passed  most  of  my  first  evening. 
The  little  tables  were  all  about  the  room,  each  occupied  by  two 
or  more  gentlemen  reading,  smoking,  drinking  and  talking.  I 
saw  at  a  glance  why  all  was  so  orderly  and  quiet,  and  still,  — 
each  having  his  glass  before  him,  for  the  Scotch  whiskey,  the 
favorite  brand,  was  measured  out  in  a  small  glass  ;  the  bottles 
were  never  set  out  as  in  our  country,  but  the  waiters  brought 
a  jug  of  hot  water,  a  bowl  of  sugar,  and  the  little  glass  of 
whiskey.  I  saw  at  once  that  I  was  in  the  land  of  steady 
habits.    All  drank  one  kind  of  liquor,  and  none  got  intoxicated. 

In  the  basement  were  the  billiard  and  pool-tables,  where  all 
were  busy,  putting  up  their  money  at  the  beginning  of  each 
game,  a  shilling  —  nothing  more.  I  had  a  beautiful,  large 
room,  so  large  it  seemed  to  one  who  felt  so  small  as  myself. 
The  next  morning,  Sunday,  I  awoke,  a  stranger  in  a  strange 
land,  in  all  expectation  of  the  strange  things  I  was  to  see. 
Going  into  the  reading-room  after  breakfast,  and  looking  out 
into  the  square  before  the  hotel,  I  saw  two  trumpeters  in 
bright  uniforms  station  themselves  before  a  «tatue  or  fountain, 
and  sound  a  reveille.  Asking  what  it  meant,  I  was  told  the 
high  sheriff  was  in  town,  and  that  the  reveille  was  performed 
whenever  he  came. 

I  spent  a  good  part  of  the  day  wandering  over  the  docks  of 
which   I  had  heard  so  much.     From  the  great  rise  and  fall 


In  the  *'  Seventies y  167 

of  the  tides,  the  ships  lie  in  docks,  the  vessels  going  in  through 
gates  that  are  shut  when  the  vessel  lies  quietly  within.  On 
the  water-side,  for  the  same  reason  of  the  tides,  were  the 
landing-stages  where  people  from  the  steamers  landed.  These 
stages,  built  of  teakwood  from  India,  were  great  floating  docks, 
rising  and  falling  with  the  tides.  Always  a  great  lover  of  ves- 
sels, I  had  much  pleasure  in  seeing  many  of  all  nations,  though 
not  one  flying  the  United  States  flag. 

In  the  business  centre  of  Liverpool  is  the  old  Church  of  St. 
Nicholas,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  its  church-yard,  covered 
with  monuments  lying  flat  on  the  ground,  over  which  the  busy 
crowd  have  thronged  for  hundreds  of  years  until  the  inscrip- 
tions are  completely  obliterated.     I  could  read  none  of  them. 

In  the  afternoon  at  the  hotel  I  received  a  letter  from  Cap- 
tain Arthur  Clark,  of  London,  telling  me  he  would  meet  me  on 
my  arrival  in  London,  Mr.  Motley  having  told  him  of  my  ar- 
rival in  Liverpool.  Captain  Clark  is  the  brother  of  Robert  F. 
Clark,  lately  a  member  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Police  Com- 
missioners. He  was  then  underwriters'  agent  in  London  for 
the  China  Insurance  Co.,  of  Boston. 

On  Monday  morning,  after  bidding  good-by  to  the  Sher- 
locks  who  had  met  me  on  my  arrival,  I  began  my  journey  to 
London,  and  had  my  first  experience  in  an  English  compart- 
ment car,  I  remember  little  of  the  trip,  but  I  arrived  in  Lon- 
don at  the  Euston  station  in  the  evening,  and  took  a  carriage 
to  the  Langham  Hotel,  at  that  time  the  favorite  hotel  in  Lon- 
don, where  our  Boston  people  of  consequence  put  up,  and  Mr. 
Motley's  hotel  while  in  London. 

Just  before  going  to  London,  I  had  read  Rice  and  Besant's 
"  Golden  Butterfly,"  telling  of  an  American  who  had  made  a 
fortune  in  oil,  went  to  London,  and  stopped  at  the  Langham 
Hotel.  This  gave  me  a  little  interest  in  the  place.  In  the 
morning  after  breakfast  Mr.  Clark  called  for  me,  and  we  went 
to  the  Viaduct   Hotel  on  High   Holbom,  which  was  a  fine 


1 68  Reminiscences. 

place  which  I  have  always  remembered  with  pleasure.  I  had  a 
good  room,  clean  and  bright,  and  the  great  dining-room,  tiled 
from  floor  to  ceiling,  was  so  quiet  and  orderly.  How  well  I 
remember  the  first  morning,  looking  out  on  the  dome  of  St. 
Paul,  high  in  the  air !  I  did  not  need  any  one  to  tell  me ;  I 
knew  it  at  once,  for  I  had  had  it  in  my  mind's  eye  since  a  boy. 

In  the  forenoon  Captain  Clark  called,  and  I  went  to  his 
office  and  we  talked  over  what  I  was  to  do,  and  how  to  find 
those  of  the  Society  to  whom  I  was  sent.  I  had  a  letter  to  our 
Ambassador  in  London,  Mr,  Phelps,  and  to  him  Captain  Clark 
and  I  went.  We  found  him  a  pleasant  man,  who  said  he 
would  do  what  he  could  for  me.  He  gave  me  a  letter  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Royal  Society.  The  gun  was  to  be  presented 
to  Mr.  Lewis,  a  barrister.  The  President  of  the  Royal  Society, 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland,  was  only  a  figure-head,  as  I 
found.  I  soon  learned  that  "  My  Lord  "  was  the  ornamental 
head  of  everything,  but  that  the  Secretary  was  the  man  of  bus- 
iness. Mr.  Lewis  loved  "  My  Lord,"  and  he  was  continually 
telling  me  of  his  President,  the  noble  Duke.  It  was  my  mis- 
fortune that  I  was  so  engaged  that  I  did  not  see  His  Grace 
the  Duke  of  Northumberland. 

Secretary  Lewis  received  me  pleasantly,  as  did  all,  and  prom- 
ised to  help  me  all  he  could.  I  remember  going  to  his  home 
with  my  son,  and  after  dining  with  him  how  he  took  me  around 
his  home,  "  to  show  me  how  an  English  gentleman  lived." 

This  was  very  amusing  to  me,  but  it  pleased  the  old  gentle- 
man. He  seemed  to  think  the  United  States  was  a  far-away 
place,  and  had  little  in  it  comfortable  as  they  had  in  Old  En- 
gland. It  was  astonishing  to  me  to  see  how  little  the  untravelled 
Englishman  knew  of  our  country. 

I  had  been  in  London  but  a  few  days  when  my  son  arrived 
from  Italy,  and  then  I  had  a  companion  in  my  travels  of  sight- 
seeing, which  made  it  much  pleasanter  for  me,  my  son  making 
me  acquainted  with  many  of  his  artist  friends.     One,  Captain 


In  the  "  Seventies  y  169 

Palmer  of  the  Navy,  invited  me  to  make  his  house  my  home 
while  in  London.  At  that  time  his  wife,  an  artist,  was  in  the 
United  States.  I  left  the  hotel,  and  till  I  sailed  for  home  was 
with  Captain  Palmer. 

My  first  call,  made  with  my  son  Aubrey,  was  to  see  an  old 
artist  friend  of  his,  Mr.  Hine,  a  noted  water-col orist.  The 
hospitality  of  the  English  gentleman  is  proverbial,  and  there 
was  no  exception  here.  On  making  my  acquaintance  Mr, 
Hine  had  the  loaf  of  bread  and  the  cheese  brought  in,  with  a 
bottle  of  Burgundy,  while  I  told  him  about  what  I  was  doing 
in  London. 

Looking  at  me  in  an  artist's  way,  the  old  gentleman  was 
much  pleased,  for  at  that  time  my  hair  was  long  to  my  shoul- 
ders, and  I  wore  a  black  Kossuth  hat  with  a  broad  brim,  un- 
like any  in  the  great  city  of  London.  I  did  not  see  but  one 
Kossuth  hat,  other  than  mine,  while  in  London,  and  that  one 
was  worn  by  a  sea  captain  from  Boston.  Neither  did  I  see  a 
**  Derby  "  hat,  for  all  wore  tall  silk  hats,  from  the  boy  up,  to 
the  servant  down.  I  soon  found  that  the  one  man  I  had  to 
do  business  with  was  Thomas  Gray,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  whose  office  was  in  a  part  of  Whitehall  Palace,  famous 
in  English  history,  and  of  which  I  shall  speak  at  length  later. 

My  friends  of  the  Humane  Society  in  Boston  seemed  to 
know  little  about  the  Life-Saving  Societies  of  London,  when 
I  was  sent  to  present  this  gun.  I  had  many  letters  of  intro- 
duction, but  they  were  to  those  who  could  do  little  to  help  me. 
A  number  were  to  the  old  captains  of  the  Cunard  steamers, 
with  whom  Mr.  Motley  had  crossed  the  ocean  many  times. 
These  captains  were  employed  by  the  Board  of  Trade  as  un- 
derlings to  Thomas  Gray. 

Mr.  Lewis  could  do  nothing,  as  all  of  this  business  came 
under  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  Thomas  Gray  was  the  only  one 
for  me  to  work  with.  After  telling  him  who  I  was,  the  busi- 
ness I  was  on,  and  from  whom  I  came,  he  said  he  would  do 


I/O  Reminiscences. 

all  he  could  to  help  me  out  of  the  matter,  but  that  I  would 
have  to  wait  to  take  my  turn,  as  many  were  waiting  before 
me. 

This  was  very  troublesome  to  me,  as  I  had  left  my  business 
and  wanted  to  return  as  soon  as  possible ;  but  wait  I  must,  and 
make  the  best  of  it.  The  delay  gave  me  an  opportunity  to 
look  about  London.  Stopping  with  Captain  Palmer  my 
expenses  were  small,  having  no  one  to  fee  as  at  a  hotel,  and 
my  small  change  held  out  well.  Captain  Palmer's  house  was 
one  of  twelve  hundred  buildings  at  Bedford  Park,  London. 
These  houses  were  all  contracted  for  by  one  man,  and  to 
watch  his  work  going  on,  and  the  methods  so  unlike  those  at 
home,  filled  up  many  hours  that  would  otherwise  have  been 
irksome.  Great  storehouses  held  doors  and  mantle-pieces  in 
Queen  Anne  style  and  painted  dark  green,  ready  to  be  put  up. 
These  houses  were  of  brick,  little  wood  being  used  except  the 
door  frames,  doors,  and  mantles.  Captain  Palmer's  house,  one 
of  the  first  built,  was  surrounded  by  others  in  all  stages  of 
completion.     A  large  flat  common  was  this  Bedford  Park. 

Building  a  house  was  begun,  not  by  digging  a  cellar  as  we 
do,  but  the  sod  was  removed  only  where  the  brick  wall  was 
to  stand,  a  shallow  trench  being  dug  and  filled  with  old  rub- 
bish. On  this,  brick  walls  were  built  up  to  the  eaves.  The 
roofs  were  very  sharp,  and  on  the  joists  furrings  or  battens 
were  nailed  horizontally,  upon  which  were  hung  the  red  tiles 
which  cover  all  roofs.  These  tiles  were  about  twelve  by 
sixteen,  with  a  clip  at  one  end.  Beginning  at  the  eaves  they 
were  hung  on  to  the  battens  by  the  projecting  clip,  one  cover- 
ing the  other  one-half  its  length,  and  breaking  joints  as  in  our 
wooden  shingles.  On  the  ridge-pole  was  placed  a  saddle-tile. 
All  were  kept  in  place  by  their  own  weight. 

This  great  village  of  Bedford  Park  was  built  for  the  use  of 
those  in  the  Civil  Service,  army  and  navy,  artists,  and  profes- 
sional men.     No  man  in  any  other  employment  could  live  here  ; 


In  the  "  Seventies y  171 

no  stores  were  allowed,  and  only  one  church  —  the  Church  of 
England.  The  houses,  of  the  Queen  Anne  fashion,  were  of 
every  conceivable  form,  each  having  a  well-kept,  little  flower- 
garden  attached,  very  pretty  to  look  at ;  but  the  houses  were 
cold  and  uncomfortable  to  live  in.  There  is  no  such  place  in 
this  country  as  Bedford  Park,  where  the  air  is  so  rarified  that 
no  grocer,  baker  nor  candlestick-maker  could  live,  neither  a 
man  doing  any  business  whatever. 

Captain  Palmer's  house  was  one  of  the  best  in  the  place, 
having  many  curios,  Turkish  rugs,  etc.,  from  the  East,  which 
he  had  obtained  on  his  voyages.  As  I  entered  the  vestibule  I 
always  removed  my  shoes  and  put  on  a  pair  of  large,  easy  slip- 
pers, always  ready,  for  his  rugs  were  too  precious  to  be  trod  on 
by  heavy  shoes. 

As  his  wife  was  away  he  had  turned  his  home  into  a  bach- 
elor's hall,  and  we  lived  mostly  in  the  common,  or  dining-room. 
I  recollect  the  little  fireplace  that  would  hold  a  peck  of  soft 
coal,  and  that  Mr.  Palmer  was  always  building  a  fire,  and  the 
fire  as  often  going  out.  I  never  suffered  so  much  from  cold  as 
I  did  in  this  house.  The  cold  in  England  is  not  our  clear,  freez- 
ing cold,  but  a  damp,  chilly  cold  that  penetrates  the  marrow  of 
one's  bones, 

Mr.  Palmer  had  two  servant  girls,  and  as  he  was  alone  in 
the  house  I  was  much  interested  in  his  household.  I  saw  that 
everything  was  bought  in  small  quantities,  sufficient  for  the 
day.  On  coming  home  Mr.  Palmer  would  go  through  the 
market  and  purchase  our  dinner  for  the  next  day ;  the  coal 
man  would  bring  in  his  bag  of  coal  on  his  back,  and  so  on ;  no 
ice  man  came,  for  no  ice  is  used  other  than  artificial  ice  in 
hotels.  I  went  into  the  kitchen,  where  was  a  little  cooking 
range  with  a  brick  at  each  end  of  the  fire-space  to  save  the 
coal. 

The  American  knows  little  of  economy  as  compared  with  the 
Englishman,  but  still  the  Englishman  lives  well ;  his  dinner  at 


1/2  Reminiscences. 

night  is  the  event  of  the  day,  and  with  no  hurry,  for  the  day's 
work  is  done.  We  sat  and  talked  with  a  bottle  of  good  wine 
between  us. 

Of  my  invention  Captain  R.  B,  Forbes  told  me  that  if  I  had 
invented  a  machine  to  destroy  lives  rather  than  one  to  save 
lives,  I  could  have  made  much  money.  This  I  found  out.  My 
friend  Captain  Palmer's  head  was  full  of  warlike  things,  and 
he  was  continually  devising  ways  that  this  device  of  mine  could 
be  changed  from  life-saving  to  death-dealing.  In  this  he 
troubled  me  much  in  the  long  evenings.  While  stopping  at 
his  home  I  went  in  town  every  day.  He  and  I  always  rode  in 
the  second-class  cars,  as  most  Englishmen  do  for  economy.  It 
seemed  so  amusing  to  see  those  who  went  on  these  cars,  which 
are  similar  to  our  electrics  only  much  plainer.  All,  to  a  man, 
wore  a  tall,  plug  hat,  a  glove  on  one  hand,  a  cane,  and  were 
never  without  an  umbrella.     The  cars  run  swiftly  and  often. 

As  I  have  elsewhere  related,  I  brought  with  me  from  home 
two  guns,  one  to  give  to  the  London  Society,  and  the  other  to 
show  the  use  of  the  same.  I  was  now  awaiting  the  day  to  be 
appointed  by  Thomas  Gray,  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade, 
who  continued  telling  me  I  would  have  to  take  my  turn, 
as  many  were  waiting  to  see  him  first,  before  my  matter 
came  up. 

The  Board  of  Trade  was  located  in  a  part  of  the  old  White- 
hall Palace.  Whitehall,  as  it  was  called,  was  the  royal  Palace 
from  1530  to  1697,  and  formerly  the  town  residence  of  the 
Archbishop  of  York.  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  the  last  Arch- 
bishop by  whom  the  Palace  was  inhabited.  Upon  the  fall  of 
Wolsey  in  1520,  "York  Palace"  was  taken  from  him  by 
Henry  VIII,  and  the  broken-hearted  prelate  left  in  his  barge 
the  Thames  for  Esher. 

"  You  must  no  more  call  it  York  Palace  —  that's  past ; 
For  since  the  Cardinal's  fall  that  title's  lost ; 
'Tis  now  the  King's,  and  called  White  Hall."  —  Shakespeare. 


In  the  "  Seventies^  173 

Here  Henry  and  Anne  Boleyn  were  married,  in  a  garret  of 
the  Palace,  says  Lingard ;  Stow  says  in  a  closet.  Whitehall 
was  henceforth  called  the  King's  Palace  of  Westminster. 
Here  January  28,  1546,  Henry  died. 

Edward  VI  held  a  Parliament  at  Whitehall.  Bishop  Lati- 
mer preached  before  the  court  in  the  Privy  garden,  while  the 
King  was  sitting  at  one  of  the  Palace  windows.  Queen  Mary 
went  from  Whitehall  by  water  to  her  coronation  at  Westmin- 
ster Abbey,  Elizabeth  bearing  the  crown  before  her.  From  this 
Palace  the  Princess  Elizabeth  was  taken  a  captive  to  the  Tower 
on  Palm  Sunday,  1554.  On  March  24,  1603,  the  Queen,  then 
deceased,  was  brought  from  Richmond  by  water  to  Whitehall. 
Here  the  Earl  of  Salisbury  learned  of  the  "Gunpowder  Plot." 
Guy  Fawkes  was  examined  in  the  King's  bed-chamber,  and 
carried  hence  to  the  Tower. 

In  1620  Inigo  Jones  designed  a  new  Palace,  but  of  his  work 
only  the  Banqueting  house  was  completed.  Here,  January  30, 
1640,  in  the  cabinet  room,  Charles  I  made  his  last  prayer. 
In  the  "  Horn  chamber  "  he  was  delivered  to  the  officers,  and 
thence  led  to  execution  upon  a  scaffold  in  front  of  the  Ban- 
queting-house. 

To  Whitehall,  April  25,  1653,  Cromwell  returned  with  the 
keys  in  his  pocket,  after  dissolving  the  Long  Parliament ;  here 
Parliament  desired  Cromwell  to  magnify  himself  with  the  title 
of  King.  Here  Milton  was  Cromwell's  Latin  Secretary.  Here 
Cromwell  died,  September  3,  1658.  Charles  II,  at  the  Resto- 
ration, came  in  great  procession  from  the  city  to  Whitehall ; 
here  he  had  his  apartments  for  his  beauties,  Portsmouth,  Cleve- 
land, and  Mazarin.  He  died  February  6,  1685,  and  his  suc- 
cessor, James  II,  was  immediately  proclaimed  and  resided 
at  Whitehall,  being  notably  a  friend  of  William  Penn,  the 
Quaker.  On  December  18,  1688,  James  left  Whitehall  in 
the  state-barge  never  to  return.  In  1697  the  Palace  was 
nearly  destroyed  by  fire. 


1 74  Reminiscences. 

In  Whitehall  yard  to-day  is  the  United  Service  Institution 
Museum.  There  my  new  gun  and  projectile  are  deposited, 
under  a  glass  case,  safe  for  all  time.  In  old  Whitehall,  so  full 
of  memories  of  the  past,  I  spent  hours  sitting  in  the  deep  bay 
windows,  looking  out  on  the  Thames,  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting of  places. 

My  son  being  now  in  London,  accompanied  me  around,  vis- 
iting Westminster  Abbey  where  we  spent  a  few  hours,  and 
the  Tower  of  London  where  I  would  like  to  have  spent  hours 
alone,  travelling  over  the  past.  As  these  are  show  places  vis- 
ited by  all  tourists,  I  say  little  of  the  Abbey  and  Tower. 

I  spent  many  an  hour  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral.  It  seems  to 
have  been  a  half-way  place  where  I  would  go  in  to  rest,  "  Old 
Saint  Paul's,"  by  Ains worth,  was  a  fascinating  story  of  my 
younger  days.  Old  St.  Paul's  was  destroyed  by  the  great  fire 
of  1666.  The  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  of  to-day  was  designed 
and  built  by  Sir  Christopher  Wren,  and  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  in  June,  1675,  by  the  "Lodge  of  Antiquity,"  of  which 
Wren  was  the  Master.  The  crypt  under  the  church  was  an 
interesting  place,  for  here  were  the  graves  of  our  great  paint- 
ers, Van  Dyck,  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  Turner,  West,  and  many 
others.  Here  are  the  tombs  of  Nelson,  whose  coffin  was 
made  from  the  mainmast  of  the  ship  "L' Orient,"  which  blew 
up  at  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  of  Admiral  Collingwood  and  the 
Duke  of  Wellington. 

On  looking  at  St.  Paul's  I  first  noticed  the  effect  of  the 
London  atmosphere  upon  the  outside  of  all  buildings,  the 
lights  and  shadows.  The  air  of  London  is  full  of  dampness ; 
fogs  filled  with  soft-coal  soot  have  given  all  the  buildings  the 
appearance  of  great  age,  adding  to  their  artistic  look,  while  the 
prominent  parts,  washed  by  the  winds  and  rains,  shade  off  to 
nearly  black  in  the  intervals. 

St.  Paul's  was  finished  in  thirty-five  years  under  one  archi- 
tect, Sir    Christopher  Wren.     He  was  paid  for  his  services 


In  the  ^' Seventies y  175 

;£200  per  annum.  To  the  Church  of  St.  Paul's  Queen  Anne 
came  yearly  to  return  thanks  for  the  brilliant  successes  of 
Marlborough,  who  carried  the  sword  of  state  before  Her  Maj- 
esty, as  did  Wellington  before  the  Prince  Regent,  in  the  day 
of  thanksgiving  for  peace  in  1814.  The  last  procession  of  this 
kind  was  when  Queen  Caroline  went  to  St.  Paul's  in  thanks- 
giving for  her  deliverance  from  the  "  Bill  of  Pains  and  Penal- 
ties," November  20,  1820. 

I  was  interested  in  Bow  Church  in  Cheapside  from  its  bells 
of  ancient  celebrity.  All  who  were  born  within  sound  of  Bow 
bells  were  called  Cockneys.  This  church  was  one  of  Wren's 
finest  works.  Within,  it  was  very  beautiful ;  its  great  arches 
decorated  in  white  and  gold,  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  grand 
opera  house  rather  than  a  church. 

While  in  London  I  went  to  church  on  Sunday  only  once, 
and  then  to  hear  Stopford  Brooke,  the  noted  Unitarian.  The 
church  was  much  like  our  old  Union  Church,  only  it  was  much 
larger,  with  a  great  sounding-board  over  the  pulpit.  I  remem- 
ber an  old  woman  usher  showed  us  our  pew,  for  which  she  got 
threepence. 

One  day  in  my  strolls  I  came  across  a  great  crowd  of  people 
near  the  Exchange  on  Cheapside.  Asking  the  occasion,  I  was 
told  that  Weston,  the  great  American  pedestrian,  was  expected 
to  arrive  shortly.  Before  the  Exchange  is  a  statue  of  George 
Peabody  sitting  in  a  chair,  of  whom  my  friend  Captain  Clark 
said,  "  He  would  ride  to  a  certain  point  towards  his  home,  and 
then  walk  a  half-mile  to  save  a  sixpence."  The  cost  of  riding 
in  a  London  hansom  is  for  the  first  mile,  one  shilling ;  every 
mile  over,  a  sixpence ;  the  tariff  is  printed  so  those  who  ride 
can  read. 

The  hansom  cab,  or  two-wheeler,  as  it  is  called  in  London, 
is  the  favorite  vehicle  to  get  around  in ;  the  drivers  "  drive 
like  Jehu,"  mounted  on  their  high  seat  behind.  I  was  told 
the  horses  used  were  old  racers  from  the  race  track.     If  one 


176  Reminiscences. 

had  much  baggage  to  go  with  him,  he  hired  the  four-wheeler, 
which  was  Hke  a  small  hack  ;  it  took  longer  to  go,  but  the  fare 
was  the  same.  No  one  of  consequence  rides  in  a  four-wheeler 
in  London. 

In  wandering  around  I  came  across  the  monument  commem- 
orative of  the  great  fire  of  1666,  situated  on  Fish- Hill  street, 
and  erected  by  Wren  in  167 1.  Its  height  is  202  feet.  The 
column  is  interesting  from  the  legend  engraved  upon  the  base 
at  the  time  it  was  built,  which  is  as  follows :  — 

"  This  Pillar  was  set  up  in  perpetual  remembrance  of  that  most 
dreadful  burning  of  this  Protestant  city  begun  and  carried  on  by 
the  treachery  and  malice  of  the  Popish  faction  in  the  beginning  of 
September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1666,  in  order  to  carry  on  their 
horrid  plot  for  extirpating  the  Protestant  religion  and  old  English 
liberty  and  the  introducing  of  Popery  and  slavery." 

This  legend  was  obliterated  in  the  reign  of  James  II,  but  re- 
cut  in  the  reign  of  William  III,  and  excited  Pope's  indignant 
couplet : 

"  Where  London's  Column,  pointing  at  the  skies, 
Like  a  tall  bully  lifts  his  head  and  lies." 

This  inscription  is  now  changed. 

Temple  Bar,  on  the  Strand,  —  one  of  its  arches  I  used  to 
pass  through,  —  divides  the  city  of  London  from  the  liberty  of 
Westminster.  It  was  named  from  a  bar  originally  placed 
across  the  street  in  vicinity  to  the  Temple.  Temple  Bar  that 
I  saw,  but  since  removed,  was  erected  by  Sir  Christopher 
Wren.  It  had  a  large  arch  in  the  centre  for  the  carriage-way, 
and  smaller  arches  on  each  side  for  foot-passengers.  Above 
the  centre  pediment,  upon  iron  spikes,  were  placed  the  heads 
and  limbs  of  persons  executed  for  treason.  After  the  rebel- 
lions of  171 5  and  1745,  the  heads  of  some  of  the  victims  were 
placed  upon  the  bar.  One  head  remained  here  for  thirty  years 
till  blown  down  in  a  gale.     Walpole  wrote  :  "  I  have  been  this 


In  the  ^^  Seventies y  177 

morning  at  the  Tower,  and  passed  under  the  new  heads  at 
Temple  Bar,  where  people  make  a  trade  of  letting  spying-glasses 
at  a  halfpenny  a  look." 

Newgate  Prison  I  passed  many  times.  Here,  in  1672, 
William  Penn,  the  founder  of  Pennsylvania,  was  confined  six 
months  for  street  preaching.  Defoe  was  committed  to  New- 
gate, and  here  he  wrote  an  "  Ode  to  the  Pillory."  Here  the 
Rev.  William  Dodd,  D.  D.,  preached  his  own  funeral  sermon, 
from  Acts  xxv:  23,  before  he  was  hanged  for  forgery.  Jack 
Sheppard  was  confined  here ;  in  Newgate  Sir  James  Thornhill 
painted  Sheppard's  portrait,  and  here  also  was  confined  Jona- 
than Wild,  the  noted  thief-taker,  of  whom  Fielding  wrote. 

The  chapel  had  galleries  for  male  and  female  prisoners. 
Below,  and  in  the  centre  of  the  floor,  is  placed  a  chair  for  the 
condemned  culprit.  On  Sundays,  before  executions,  the  crim- 
inal's coffin  was  placed  at  his  feet  during  the  service.  For- 
merly, sixty  persons  have  been  seen  on  one  Sunday  in  the 
"  condemned  pew." 

An  interesting  place  I  visited  with  Mr.  Palmer  was  the 
Sailors'  Home  in  Whitechapel.  This  was  for  sailors  who 
came  into  port  with  no  home  of  their  own.  It  was  a  large 
building.  I  recollect  one  room  or  hall  in  the  centre,  extend- 
ing from  the  floor  to  the  roof,  around  which  were  galleries 
one  above  the  other,  with  iron  stairs  leading  to  each.  The 
galleries  and  stairs  had  no  hand  rails,  but  iron  stanchions 
through  which  were  woven  hand  ropes,  as  sailor-like  as  pos- 
sible. Around  these  galleries  were  numbers  of  little  rooms 
or  lockers,  each  provided  with  a  hammock.  Here  was  where 
the  sailor  slept  as  on  ship-board.  Adjoining  this  was  another 
hall  with  many  tables  for  cards,  chess,  checkers,  etc.  Out  of 
this  hall  was  the  room  where  the  sailor  could  get  his  beer  or 
"bitter"  as  called;  here  the  casks  were  horsed,  and  attendants 
were  found  to  dra\y/the  beer.  Besides  what  I  have  related, 
there  was  a  dining-room  and  hall  for  lectures. 


178  Reminiscences. 

On  this  night  Captain  Palmer  came  to  give  a  lecture  to  the 
British  "tar,"  and  I  was  greatly  amused.  Palmer  was  no 
orator,  and  told  his  story  in  a  most  uninteresting  way,  halting 
and  hesitating,  but,  knowing  his  audience,  he  would  bring  in 
"our  good  Queen  Victoria,"  when  the  sailors  would  shout  and 
cheer.  This  livened  things  up,  and  friend  Palmer  introduced 
"our  good  Queen"  on  every  occasion.  As  I  have  said,  the 
true-born  Englishman  loves  a  lord,  and  adores  his  Queen, 
After  the  lecture  we  had  a  lunch,  to  show  what  food  the 
sailors  received. 

With  Capt.  Palmer  I  attended  another  lecture  on  the  "Man- 
ufacture of  Ordnance."  Several  of  the  speakers  were  noted 
men  in  this  work.  I  could  not  get  interested  in  their  subject, 
for  it  was  impossible  to  understand  their  dialect,  which  was  so 
different  from  the  English  I  use.  The  men  whom  I  had  thus 
far  met  used  the  same  English  we  do  at  home,  and  they  were 
educated  men. 

In  England  each  County  has  a  dialect  of  its  own,  and  diffi- 
cult to  understand.  So  the  best  part  of  this  lecture  was  the 
end  —  a  good  lunch.  I  soon  found  that  all  things  in  London 
ended  in  something  to  eat  and  drink. 

One  day  I  was  invited  by  Capt.  Clark  to  go  to  Greenwich 
and  have  a  whitebait  dinner  at  the  Ship  Hotel,  for  which  the 
place  was  famous.  At  Charing  Cross  we  took  the  steamer, 
which  was  a  black  and  uninviting  side-wheeler,  and  nothing 
like  our  white,  clean,  fine  harbor  boats.  It  had  tall  smoke- 
stacks, and  was  of  much  interest  to  me  to  see  it  go  under  the 
bridges.  Running  at  great  speed,  just  before  reaching  a 
bridge,  down  would  drop  the  stack  on  deck,  it  being  hung  on 
a  hinge,  and  as  soon  as  we  passed  through,  up  it  would  go 
again.  In  going  down  the  river  I  had  a  good  view  of  the 
Tower,  and  of  numberless  craft  of  all  descriptions  and  from 
all  countries,  besides  many  barges  with  great  lug  sails,  colored 
brown  and  red. 


In  the  **  Seventies  y  179 

On  arriving  at  Greenwich  (pronounced  Grenich),  we  went 
to  the  famous  "  Ship""  for  our  dinner.  I  was  so  much  inter- 
ested in  the  surroundings  that  I  cared  little  for  the  dinner. 
The  dining-room  was  a  stately  hall,  where  the  members  of 
Parliament  celebrated  the  close  of  the  session  with  a  white- 
bait dinner.  The  waiters  looked  like  remnants  of  better  days 
in  their  apparel  and  sober  mien.  I  think  Capt.  Clark  as  well 
as  myself  was  somewhat  impressed,  the  silence  was  so  profound. 
This  grand  dining-room  looked  out  on  the  Thames,  and  was  a 
pleasant  place,  with  pleasant  company. 

Greenwich  was  the  royal  residence  from  the  time  of  Henry 
IV  to  the  time  of  Charles  II.  Here  Henry  VIII  was  born  in 
1491  ;  here  he  married  Catharine  of  Aragon  in  15 10,  and  here 
he  held  his  great  tournaments.  Queen  Mary  was  born  at 
Greenwich  in  1 5 1 5,  and  Cardinal  Wolsey  was  her  godfather. 
Here  Edward  VI  died,  and  here  Queen  Elizabeth  was  born, 
Sept.  7,  1533. 

The  following  from  an  old  writer  gives  us  a  view  of  Eliza- 
beth at  sixty-five  :  "  She  was  very  majestic,  her  face  oblong, 
fair  but  wrinkled,  her  eyes  small,  yet  black  and  pleasant ;  her 
nose  a  little  hooked,  her  lips  narrow  and  her  teeth  black  —  a 
defect  the  English  seem  subject  to  —  she  had  in  her  ears  two 
pearls.  She  wore  false  hair  and  that  red ;  on  her  head  was 
a  small  crown  of  gold.  Her  bosom  was  uncovered,  as  all 
English  have  it,  till  they  marry ;  her  hands  were  small,  and 
her  fingers  long.  She  was  neither  tall  nor  low ;  her  air  was 
stately.  Whoever  speaks  to  her  it  is  kneeling ;  now  and  then 
she  raises  some  with  her  hand ;  wherever  she  turned  her  face 
as  she  was  going  along,  everybody  fell  down  on  their  knees." 

In  1694  the  Palace  was  converted  into  a  hospital  for  the 
Royal  Navy.  The  Royal  Observatory,  established  in  the  reign 
of  Charles  II,  is  where  calculations  of  latitude  and  longitude 
are  made,  and  astronomical  and  meteorological  observations  are 
regulated  by  "  Greenwich  time  "  all  over  the  world. 


1 80  Reminiscences. 

One  day  I  dined  with  Captain  Palmer  in  the  famous  Fish- 
monger's Hall  in  Billingsgate,  near  the  end  of  London  Bridge. 
As  at  Greenwich,  this  dinner  was  a  fish  dinner.  In  passing,  I 
will  say  that  London  is  famous  for  its  fine  fish,  whitebait,  sole, 
and  eels. 

Billingsgate  is  the  celebrated  fish-market  of  London,  and  the 
fish  woman  of  Billingsgate,  a  historical  character  is  thus  de- 
scribed by  Addison  :  "  She  wore  a  strong  stuff  gown,  tucked 
up  and  showing  a  large,  quilted  petticoat ;  her  hair,  cap, 
and  bonnet  flattened  into  a  mass  by  carrying  a  basket  on  her 
head;  ,her  coarse,  cracked  cry,  and  brawny  limbs,  and  red, 
bloated  face,  completed  a  portrait  of  the  '  fish  fag '  of  other 
days."  Any  foul-mouthed  language  is  called  Billingsgate,  a 
by-word  for  low  abuse. 

Another  day,  with  Captains  Palmer  and  Clark,  my  son  Au- 
brey and  I  dined  at  Crosby  Hall,  in  Bishopsgate  street.  Crosby 
Hall,  full  of  historic  lore,  is  one  of  the  noted  places  in  London. 
It  was  once  in  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  Richard 
III.  Here  he  determined  on  the  deposition  and  death  of  the 
young  King  Edward  V,  and  plotted  his  own  elevation  to  the 
throne.  About  1514  this  place  was  owned  by  Sir  Thomas 
More,  who  here  wrote  his  "History  of  Richard  III,"  and  where 
he  probably  received  King  Henry  VIII,  as  at  that  time  he 
was  in  high  favor  with  the  King.  Crosby  Hall  had  many 
changes  in  its  many  years,  from  a  royal  residence  down  to  a 
music  hall,  and  finally  to  a  dining  hall.  Its  roof  is  one  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  timber  work  in  existence.  So  full  of  his- 
tory, it  was  a  grand  dining  hall,  and  here  I  took  my  last  dinner 
in  London  with  all  my  friends. 

One  day  Mr.  Gray  invited  me  to  go  to  Faversham,  in  Kent, 
where  was  the  Government  gun  cotton  factory,  telling  me  it 
would  interest  me  and  be  of  future  advantage.  Faversham  is 
on  the  south  side  of  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  and  close  by  is 
the  island  of  Thanet,  famous  in  English  history  as  the  spot 


In  the  '•'•  Seventies y  i8i 

where  landed  the  first  Englishmen  in  the  year  449.  In  the 
year  597  Pope  Gregory  sent  a  Roman  Abbot,  Augustine,  at 
the  head  of  a  band  of  monks,  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Eng- 
lish people.  The  missionaries  landed  on  the  very  spot  where 
the  Englishmen  had  landed  more  than  a  century  before. 

My  companion,  a  Government  official,  showed  me  around, 
explaining  everything  as  we  went.  The  place  was  of  interest 
to  me,  as  years  before  I  had  experimented  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. Here  were  great  tanks  of  water  in  which  were  set  num- 
berless stone  jars  filled  with  nitric  and  sulphuric  acid;  in  this 
mixture  was  put  the  cotton,  which  after  remaining  the  proper 
time,  was  taken  out  and  washed  thoroughly  so  that  there  was 
no  trace  of  the  acid ;  while  still  wet,  it  was  ground  in  a  mill 
with  nitrate  of  baryta,  which,  I  suppose,  was  to  give  substance 
or  weight  to  the  product.  The  gun  cotton  was  now  formed 
into  cartridges  of  the  size  wanted,  with  a  hole  in  one  end  in 
which  to  fix  the  detonator.  It  was  then  rolled  up  in  brown 
paper  and  dipped  in  paraffine,  when  the  process  was  complete. 
The  opportunity  in  my  life  to  manufacture  cartridges  I  missed, 
for  had  I  afterwards  interested  others  with  me,  a  large  busi- 
ness could  have  been  done  in  Weymouth.  Some  years  ago 
(in  1897)  our  Government  appointed  a  commission  to  go  to 
Faversham  to  study  the  process,  preparatory  to  manufacturing 
cartridges  in  this  country. 

The  gentleman  with  me  brought  along  with  him  a  hamper 
containing  a  good  lunch  and  the  usual  bottle  of  Burgundy.  So 
far  as  I  recollect,  no  one  drank  water  while  I  was  in  England. 
The  trip  to  Faversham  was  made  from  London  wholly  through 
the  County  of  Kent.  Here  is  where  the  hops  are  grown  for 
the  Englishman's  "bitter."  I  enjoyed  the  trip  much,  the 
country  was  so  beautiful ;  as  I  was  always  on  the  lookout  for 
old  sites,  once  in  a  while  I  got  sight  of  some  old  ruined  castle. 

Another  interesting  journey  I  made  was  to  the  north  of 
England  to  North  Shields,  at  Mr.  Gray's  suggestion,   that  I 


1 8  2  Reminiscences . 

might  see  one  of  the  best  equipped  life-saving  stations.  It 
was  a  long  ride ;  I  had  one  compartment  of  the  car  all  to 
myself,  and  remember,  just  before  the  train  started,  the  door 
was  swung  open  and  a  flat  tank  of  hot  water  was  shoved  in 
on  the  bottom  of  the  car  for  me  to  put  my  feet  on,  so  as  to 
keep  warm.  This  was  the  only  way  of  heating  the  cars,  which 
were  lighted  in  an  equally  crude  way :  in  the  roof  of  the  car 
were  holes,  with  a  cage  below  into  which  a  man,  running  along 
upon  the  roof,  would  drop  a  common  oil  lantern.  All  these 
things,  so  new  to  me,  I  noted. 

Going  through  the  County  of  York,  I  recollect  getting  a 
view  of  the  famous  York  Minster.  Passing  through  Newcastle 
and  from  thence  to  North  Shields,  I  was  now  in  the  coal 
region.  The  houses,  all  of  stone,  looked  dark  and  grimy  ; 
the  people  poor  and  squalid,  unlike  anything  I  had  seen.  In 
North  Shields  I  put  up  at  the  "Northumberland  Arms,"  a 
quaint  old  place  looking  out  on  the  harbor.  The  building  must 
have  been  hundreds  of  years  old.  I  was  given  the  best  room 
—  the  parlor  —  and  before  a  great  coal  fire  in  the  antique  fire- 
place, my  table  was  set  for  supper,  and,  as  I  remember,  a  good 
one.  In  my  bed-chamber,  a  large  room,  in  one  corner  stood 
the  bedstead,  so  high-posted  that  I  almost  needed  a  ladder  to 
get  on  to  the  bed.  Never  before  having  slept  in  so  large  a 
room  nor  on  so  large  a  bed,  I  mention  this. 

Mr.  Gray  gave  me  a  letter  to  Mr.  Spense,  a  Quaker,  who 
was  to  show  me  the  life-saving  station  and  its  apparatus.  Mr. 
Spense  was  a  man  of  importance  in  the  town.  The  next 
morning  I  found  him,  gave  him  Mr.  Gray's  letter,  and  he  took 
charge  of  me,  showing  me  around.  The  life-saving  station 
buildings  were  in  a  fort  built  in  the  time  of  the  Spanish  Ar- 
mada by  Queen  Elizabeth,  This  was  a  volunteer  station,  and 
everything  was  made  attractive  for  the  men.  There  was  a 
building  other  than  that  used  for  the  apparatus,  for  the  men 
to  gather  in,  evenings,  —  like  our  club-rooms,  —  where  they 


In  the  ^*  Seventies y  183 

had  all  kinds  of  games  and  sports.  Looking  across  the  bay 
from  this  station,  on  a  high  point  were  seen  the  ruins  of  Tyne- 
mouth  Abbey,  whose  pictures,  reproduced  from  the  great  artist 
Turner's  painting,  we  are  all  acquainted  with. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day  Mr.  Spense  got  his  men 
together  so  that  they  could  show  me  the  working  of  their 
apparatus,  how  they  used  a  rocket  instead  of  a  gun  and  pro- 
jectile, and  the  "  Boxer  Rocket."  This  rocket  was  made  by 
putting  together  two  large  rockets,  one  on  top  of  the  other ; 
the  first  being  lighted  and  burning  out,  lit  the  other,  continuing 
the  flight,  while  the  fire  from  the  last  rocket  played  through 
the  one  already  burned  out.  I  was  much  interested  to  see 
this  rocket  service  work,  as  I  had  heard  much  about  it.  Sev- 
eral rockets  were  fired  and  seemed  to  go  all  right,  carrying  a 
good-sized  line  a  long  way.  As  I  watched  the  operation,  I 
saw  that  after  the  first  rocket  had  burned  out  before  the  top 
one  was  well  lighted,  the  rocket  sometimes  lost  its  direction. 
Aside  from  its  cost,  which  was  far  more  than  my  projectile,  this 
was  the  one  bad  thing  about  the  rocket.  The  exhibition  was 
carried  on  with  great  precision,  everything  being  done  by  rule. 

I  stopped  only  one  night  at  the  "Northumberland  Arms," 
having  found  a  more  modern  hotel  in  Tynemouth,  nearer  the 
life-saving  station.  There,  after  supper  in  the  evening,  I  heard 
the  heavy  report  of  a  cannon  from  the  direction  of  the  station 
where  I  had  spent  the  afternoon.  I  had  seen  two  guns  mounted 
in  the  old  fort,  and  was  told  that  when  a  vessel  came  ashore  on 
one  side  of  the  harbor  one  gun  was  fired,  when  on  the  other 
side,  two.  On  hearing  this  report  of  one  gun,  all  rushed  out 
of  the  house  to  the  side  of  the  harbor  designated.  It  was  a 
dark,  windy  night,  and  a  large  steam  collier  had  come  ashore. 
When  I  got  to  the  ground  the  rocket  brigade  was  already  at 
work,  and  everything  was  in  the  greatest  confusion,  seeming 
to  have  neither  head  nor  tail.  At  once  I  was  reminded  of  our 
old  "Amazon,"  when  on  parade  or  at  a  fire. 


1 84  Reminiscences. 

Several  rockets  were  fired,  but  none  went  aboard  the  ship  ; 
and  as  I  have  said,  they  seemed  to  lose  direction  after  the  first 
rocket  had  lost  its  force.  In  the  meantime  the  life-boat  had 
been  manned  and  the  crew  brought  ashore.  It  seemed  strange 
that  I  should  cross  the  ocean  to  the  North  of  England  to  see  a 
shipwreck,  the  first  one  and  the  last,  giving  me  the  opportunity 
to  see  the  working  of  the  English  Boxer  rocket  of  which  I  had 
heard  so  much.  In  looking  the  next  morning  I  saw  nothing 
of  the  wrecked  steamer  but  her  smoke  stack  and  masts  above 
the  water. 

The  next  day  after  the  wreck  of  the  steamer  I  went  over  to 
see  the  ruins  of  the  old  Abbey.  Only  a  part  of  the  walls  were 
standing,  and  scattered  around  were  a  number  of  stone  coffins 
used  by  the  monks.  Inside  the  walls  was  a  modern  burying- 
place,  none  of  the  stones  dating  back  one  hundred  years.  I 
asked  one  whom  I  met  there  if  he  could  tell  me  anything  about 
the  ruins.  He  said,  "  No,  the  Rector  is  the  only  one  who  can 
give  its  history."  I  did  not  see  the  Rector,  neither  have  I 
been  able  to  find  any  account  of  the  Abbey  in  all  my  books  ; 
so  I  am  still  ignorant  of  its  past. 

On  my  return  to  the  hotel  I  found  Mr.  Spense  awaiting 
me.  Wishing  to  pay  me  some  attention,  he  wanted  me  to 
lunch  with  him  at  his  home.  It  was  a  disappointment  to  me, 
but  I  could  do  no  other  than  go.  He  lived  in  a  fine  old  stone 
house.  I  did  not  see  a  wooden  house  in  old  England,  all  were 
built  of  stone  or  brick.  Back  of  Mr.  Spense's  house  was  a 
fine  garden  that  one  looked  out  on  from  the  dining-room.  Mr. 
Spense's  family  consisted  of  himself,  his  wife  and  two  elderly 
daughters,  and  this  lunch  I  shall  never  forget. 

At  the  head  of  the  table  sat  Mr.  Spense ;  at  the  foot  I,  at 
my  right  Mrs.  Spense,  and  at  my  left  the  two  daughters.  Mrs. 
Spense,  a  paralytic,  had  much  trouble  in  talking ;  the  daugh- 
ters said  nothing  but  sat  quietly,  and  Mr.  Spense  and  I  talked 
about  my  gun  and  projectile.     Now  to  come  to  the  food  ;  the 


In  the  ^^ Seventies y  185 

English  people  are  great  for  tarts  —  there  are  no  pies  in  En- 
gland except  meat  pies  —  all  are  tarts.  So  it  was  bread  and 
butter,  tarts  and  cake,  nothing  more  aside  from  tea ;  this  was 
our  lunch.  I  have  never  wanted  to  lunch  with  a  Quaker 
family  since. 

At  the  hotel  I  met  a  commercial  traveller  who  told  me  I 
must  buy  some  gloves  in  London  to  take  home,  as  they  cost 
half  what  they  did  in  the  United  States.  It  seemed  to  me  as 
I  looked  into  the  windows  and  saw  the  goods  on  sale,  that  they 
were  much  lower  in  price  than  at  home.  Near  Westminster 
were  the  Civil  Service  stores,  which  were  like  the  large  stores 
we  now  have  in  this  country,  where  one  could  buy  everything 
needed  in  the  household.  There  I  used  to  go  sometimes  with 
Captain  Palmer.  I  remember  it  as  a  very  large  building,  with 
a  vestibule  in  front  where  the  "lackeys"  sat  waiting  while  their 
mistresses  were  bargaining  inside. 

The  women  of  the  household  do  the  buying.  There  were  a 
dozen  fine  turn-outs  by  the  sidewalk,  with  the  drivers  sitting 
upright  on  the  box  in  their  fine  liveries.  There  you  could  buy 
anything,  from  fresh  pork  to  a  diamond  ring.  In  the  food 
department  the  old  dowagers  were  going  around,  fingering, 
smelling,  and  buying  their  dinners.  Here  I  bought  a  diamond 
ring.  In  the  upper  story  was  a  large  dining-hall  for  the  pa- 
trons of  the  place.  This  great  department  store  was  on  the 
same  plan  as  our  old  Union  store  we  had  years  ago,  it  being 
owned  by  shareholders. 

I  will  now  go  back  to  my  life-saving  business.  My  patience 
was  nearly  exhausted  in  waiting  for  my  gun  trial,  and  Captain 
Palmer  was  continually  telling  me  I  could  do  nothing  until  Mr. 
Gray  was  ready.  But  now  the  time  had  come  when  I  must 
return  home  to  look  after  my  business ;  so  one  morning  I  went 
to  see  Mr.  Gray  and  told  him  if  I  could  not  have  this  trial  at 
once  I  would  go  home,  as  I  could  wait  no  longer.  When  he 
found  I  was  in  earnest  he  gave  me  a  letter  to  some  high  official 


1 86  Reminiscences . 

in  the  War  department,  where  I  went  and  at  once  made  ar- 
rangements for  the  trial  at  Shoeburyness,  a  Government  sta- 
tion on  the  north  side  of  the  Thames,  near  its  mouth. 

Now  the  law  is  such,  I  could  bring  no  gunpowder  into 
England,  and  so  had  to  find  some  in  London.  Strange  to  say, 
no  explosive  was  on  sale  in  the  great  city,  and  I  had  to  get  an 
order  on  the  Ordnance  Department  for  what  I  wished, —  a 
coarse-grained  cannon  powder  unlike  what  I  used  in  my  gun. 
After  all  the  formalities  were  through  —  they  were  many  — 
I  arrived  at  Shoeburyness  with  my  friends,  Clark  and  Palmer, 
gun  and  projectile.  The  trial  was  very  unlike  what  I  had 
looked  forward  to.  A  "firing  squad"  was  ordered  out,  con- 
sisting of  half  a  dozen  soldiers,  in  red  coats  and  little  caps 
stuck  on  one  side  of  their  heads  and  held  by  a  strap  under 
the  chin.  The  whole  affair  was  taken  out  of  my  hands,  aside 
from  the  few  directions  I  gave.  It  was  very  amusing,  for  they 
went  through  the  same  performance  with  this  little  toy  gun  as 
if  it  were  a  large  piece  of  ordnance.  "Make  ready,  load, 
aim,  fire  I  "  As  the  powder  was  too  coarse,  the  first  shot  did 
not  carry  far.  By  doubling  the  charge  we  got  a  very  good 
range,  but  not  so  long  as  I  wished.  It  mattered  little,  how- 
ever,—  my  trials  were  through,  as  were  the  gun's. 

We  were  now  invited  to  the  officers'  quarters  and  entertained 
finely.  I  remember  a  very  pleasant  drink,  and  asking  what  it 
was,  it  amused  these  men  much  to  think  I  did  not  know  brandy 
and  soda.  One  of  the  officers,  I  recollect  well,  was  a  hand- 
some man  with  a  good  nose,  which  was  so  thin  it  seemed 
transparent.  He  stood  back  to  the  fire-place  and  imitated  all 
the  English  dialects.  This  was  a  happy  time,  for  now  my 
"  trials  "  had  ended,  and  I  could  go  home. 

Before  leaving  London  I  will  mention  some  of  the  strange 
customs.  Going  to  get  a  glass  of  beer,  the  bar-maid  helped 
you,  not  a  man  as  here.  On  Sunday  nights,  in  walking  about 
the  streets,  one  would  come  across  a  brightly  lighted  place 


In  the  '^Seventies"  187 

with  men  and  women  going  in  and  out ;  this  was  the  "  Gin 
Palace  "  we  have  read  about.  On  Sunday  morning  you  will 
see  the  women  and  children  with  pitcher  and  pail  getting  their 
beer,  or  "  bitter,"  for  their  men  at  home.  This  beer  seemed 
to  stupefy,  and  those  who  drank  it  took  a  long  time  to  recover 
from  its  effects.  The  workman  in  England  does  little  work 
on  Monday  from  the  result  of  his  Sunday  beer-drinking. 
Whiskey,  unlike  beer,  gets  in  its  work  quickly,  and  is  as 
quickly  over.  When  the  church  opens  on  Sunday,  the  cus- 
tom in  London  is  for  the  bars  to  close;  when  the  church 
closes,  the  bar  opens. 

Now  all  being  done  that  I  could  do,  I  bade  good-by  to  my 
friends  and  boarded  the  train  at  Euston  station  for  Liverpool, 
where  I  got  aboard  the  old  "  Marathon  "  again,  to  return.  I 
would  like  to  have  returned  in  some  other  ship  but  it  was  not 
to  be  so.  The  captain  of  this  ship  was  a  coarse,  vulgar  man, 
far  inferior  to  the  officers  under  him,  with  whom  I  had  got  ac- 
quainted and  liked  them  much.  The  passengers  were  very  un- 
like those  I  went  over  with ;  I  had  nothing  to  do  with  them  ; 
as  soon  as  they  were  aboard  ship  they  began  complaining  and 
grumbling  until  we  had  crossed  the  ocean. 

When  I  came  up  Boston  harbor  it  was  the  first  of  April, 
1880,  and  in  a  snow-storm,  the  first  snow  I  had  seen  for  two 
months.  At  once  I  reported  to  Mr.  Motley,  telling  him  of  my 
voyage,  though  I  never  told  him  of  the  trouble  they  made  me 
by  sending  over  a  gun  to  a  Society  that  did  not  exist. 

When  I  got  home  I  immediately  began  work  with  my  fire- 
works business,  sadly  neglected,  and  my  finances  at  never  so 
low  an  ebb.  However,  I  did  a  fair  business  and  secured  the 
exhibition  on  Boston  Common  on  July  4,  and  from  that  time 
my  affairs  began  to  mend.  The  Humane  Society  gave  me 
orders  to  fit  out  all  their  stations  on  the  Massachusetts  coast 
with  my  gun,  projectiles  and  reels.  This  gave  me  something 
to  do  besides  my  fireworks  business. 


1 8  8  Reminiscences. 

Soon  after  my  return  from  England,  Captain  R.  B.  Forbes 
wanted  me  to  come  to  see  him  at  Milton,  wishing  to  know 
about  my  trip  abroad.  I  remember  going  out  from  Boston  in 
the  train,  and  meeting  him  at  the  station  at  East  Milton.  Cap- 
tain Forbes  was  mounted  on  his  horse  and  I  walked  by  his  side 
to  his  home,  some  half  a  mile  from  the  station,  talking  as  we 
went  along.  I  remember  feeling  quite  indignant  at  my  recep- 
tion, and  sometime  afterwards  told  my  friend  Captain  Faucon, 
who  must  have  mentioned  the  matter  to  Captain  Forbes,  for 
soon  after  I  was  invited  to  dine  with  him,  meeting  Mrs.  Hunt, 
wife  of  William  M.  Hunt,  the  noted  artist,  Captain  Faucon  and 
others. 

Captain  Forbes  had  sailed  many  ships  across  the  ocean,  one 
of  them  the  U.  S.  ship  "Jamestown,"  loaded  with  food  for 
famine-stricken  Ireland,  and  as  was  Captain  Faucon,  so  Captain 
Forbes  was  always  on  the  quarter-deck.  At  times  he  had 
invented  and  made  improvements  on  the  rigging  of  his  ships. 
On  sitting  down  to  the  dining  table,  he  had  coiled  in  his  hand 
a  rubber  tube  which  he  tossed  across  the  length  of  the  table 
to  his  wife,  saying,  "Here,  old  lady,  talk  through  this  so  that 
I  may  hear,"  It  was  one  of  the  old  gentleman's  last  inven- 
tions. This  was  a  very  pleasant  occasion.  I  rode  to  the 
station  with  Mrs.  William  M.  Hunt,  and  had  quite  a  talk  with 
her.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Thomas  Handasyde  Perkins, 
who  founded  the  Blind  Asylum  in  South  Boston. 

Captain  Forbes  came  to  Weymouth  several  times,  but  never 
when  Mr.  Motley  came,  as  they  did  not  like  each  other.  He 
had  been  an  officer  in  the  Humane  Society  many  years,  and 
was  an  authority  in  life-saving  matters. 


■m^^ 


Chapter  VI.     In  the  "Eighties." 


S  my  guns  and  projectiles  were  finished,  they 
were  sent  to  the  stations.  The  work  of  setting 
them  up  was  done  by  Captain  Faucon,  I  some- 
times going  with  him.  One  trip  was  down  on 
Cape  Cod,  where  we  stopped  with  Captain  Snow 
who  had  charge  of  the  station  at  Nauset.  Captain  Snow  was 
an  old  sea  captain,  Uke  Captain  Faucon,  but  not  of  so  high 
rank,  for  Captain  Faucon  was  an  officer  in  our  navy  during 
the  Civil  War.  We  had  our  supper  with  the  Snows,  and  well 
do  I  remember  Captain  Faucon's  lecture  to  Mrs.  Snow,  a 
pleasant  old  lady  who  could  not  do  enough  for  us.  The  tea- 
table  was  loaded  with  all  good  things  in  the  house,  and  the  old 
lady  was  hovering  around  to  see  that  we  had  enough ;  but  pre- 
tending that  nothing  suited  him,  the  old  captain  began  to  lec- 
ture on  the  extravagance  of  people  who  lived  on  the  Cape,  in 
piling  the  table  with  food.  Now  this  would  have  been  very 
embarrassing,  had  Captain  Snow  and  his  wife  never  seen  Cap- 
tain Faucon  before ;  but  they  knew  him  well,  and  it  amused 
rather  than  provoked  them.  We  stopped  here  over  night,  and 
in  the  morning  had  our  breakfast,  when  Captain  Faucon  re- 
newed his  lecture  of  the  night  before,  for  the  good  woman  of 


1 90  Reminiscences . 

the  house  had  much  of  the  supper  on  the  breakfast  table,  after 
the  ways  of  "ye  olden  times." 

The  station  at  Nauset  was  quite  a  long  way  from  Captain 
Snow's,  and  we  had  to  go  some  of  the  way  a-foot  and  some  of 
the  way  in  a  row-boat.  I  had  much  fun  to  myself  in  watching 
the  old  captain  as  he  trudged  along  before  me.  He  wore  a 
large  ulster  with  a  pointed  cap  and  a  tassel  on  the  point ;  put- 
ting this  over  his  head,  it  gave  him  the  look  of  a  "  brownie." 
The  old  gentleman  would  resent  the  least  familiarity,  but 
dearly  loved  to  tell  his  sea  stories,  sailor-like,  and  then  he 
would  like  to  relate  the  family  histories  of  gentlemen  con- 
nected with  the  Humane  Society,  —  the  Motleys,  the  Law- 
rences, the  Lothrops,  —  and  all  were  interesting.  Arriving 
at  the  station,  we  got  out  the  apparatus,  explained  the  way 
to  use  it,  fired  the  gun,  and  all  went  well. 

Following  is  a  letter  from  Captain  Snow  to  me  :  — 

"  On  the  morning  of  March  15,  1887,  at  nine  o'clock,  the  schooner 
J.  H.  Ells  came  ashore  at  low  water  at  Nauset,  near  the  U.  S.  Life 
Saving  station.  The  station-men  got  out  their  gun  (Lyle's)  and 
fired  until  it  was  of  no  use,  —  their  lines  parting,  and  after  firing 
six  times  could  not  reach  the  wreck.  I  told  them  I  had  a  gun  in 
the  Humane  house  that  would  throw  a  shot  over  the  vessel.  We 
sent  and  got  it.  It  was  now  high  water  and  a  long  distance.  The 
shot  fell  short  with  three  oz.  powder,  I  then  put  in  a  six  oz.  car- 
tridge when  the  shot  went  fifty  yards  over  the  wreck.  The  vessel 
was  much  broken  up,  and  only  two  men  in  the  foretop,  but  they 
could  not  haul  the  line  the  current  was  so  strong.  After  a  while  it 
parted.  We  then  shot  another  which  they  could  not  haul  in,  but 
made  it  fast.  It  parted  during  the  night.  In  the  morning  one 
man  was  dead  in  the  foretop,  and  the  captain  washed  off  the  bow- 
sprit and  was  drowned.  If  we  had  had  the  Hunt  gun  in  the  first 
place  I  think  we  could  have  saved  all  the  men,  for  there  was  little 
current  running  and  the  men  could  have  hauled  the  line  in.  B.  C. 
Sparrow,  Supt.  of  the  U.  S.  L.  S.  station,  and  the  captain  of  the 
station  were  there  all  the  time,  and  know  the  Lyle  gun  is  of  no  use 


In  the  ''Eighties:'  191 

for  a  long  distance.  I  can  get  the  testimony  of  one  hundred  men 
in  Eastham  and  Orleans  to  say  the  Hunt  gun  is  all  that  is  required, 
while  the  Lyle  gun  is  useless  for  a  long  range. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Jonathan  Snow, 

Underwriters'  Agents 

We  continued  our  trip  in  the  afternoon  to  Provincetown, 
where  we  stopped  over  night,  and  in  the  morning  we  went  out 
to  the  Humane  Society's  station  on  the  end  of  the  Cape  among 
the  sand  dunes.  Here,  as  at  Nauset,  we  showed  the  men  how 
to  use  the  gun,  firing  it  once,  after  which  we  took  the  cars  for 
home. 

Before  the  wreck  at  Nauset,  on  Jan.  9,  1887,  the  three- 
masted  schooner  "Isaac  Carlton"  came  ashore  at  Fourth  Cliff, 
Scituate.  After  beating  about  the  bay  all  night  she  struck  on 
the  beach.  About  eight  o'clock  the  men  took  to  the  rigging, 
as  the  sea  broke  completely  over  her.  The  United  States  Life 
Saving  crew  at  once  commenced  work  to  rescue  the  crew. 
Four  times  they  shot  their  line,  and  as  often  did  it  fall  short 
or  break. 

My  gun,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Walsh  of  Station  No.  10,  Mass- 
achusetts Humane  Society,  was  brought  from  about  a  mile 
away  through  the  deep  snow-drifts,  and  on  the  first  attempt 
threw  a  line  aboard,  and  soon  the  captain  and  seven  men  were 
safe  ashore.  About  this  time  I  went  to  Nantucket,  to  take 
one  of  my  guns  and  show  the  way  to  use  it.  I  had  no  sooner 
arrived  there  than  the  harbor  froze  up,  and  I  was  a  prisoner  for 
a  week. 

By  some  misunderstanding  I  was  sent  to  the  United  States 
Life  Saving  station  at  Surf  side.  I  got  the  crew  out,  loaded 
the  gun,  and  when  all  was  ready,  told  them  I  would  aim  at  a 
range  of  small  fish-houses  some  four  hundred  yards  away. 
One  of  the  buildings  was  painted  black.     This  I  said  would 


192  Reminiscences. 

be  my  mark.  Strange  to  say,  I  put  the  shot  fairly  in  this 
building  to  the  surprise  of  the  men  looking  on,  as  well  as  my- 
self. I  left  the  gun  here  and  it  was  afterwards  taken  down 
to  the  harbor,  where  the  Massachusetts  Humane  Society's 
house  was  stationed. 

In  this  long,  cold  week  I  put  up  at  the  Springfield  House, 
at  that  time  a  first-class  house.  The  days,  I  spent  at  the 
"  Captains'  Room  "  in  the  old  Custom  House.  In  the  centre 
of  the  room  was  an  immense  stove  ;  around  it  was  an  iron  rail 
to  rest  one's  feet  on,  while  tilting  back  in  the  great  arm-chairs. 
Here  gathered  all  the  sea-captains  of  the  town,  weaving 
their  sea  yarns,  being  the  most  interesting  lot  of  men  I  ever 
met.  They  were  men  who  had  been  the  seas  over,  and  were 
now  laid  up  in  a  snug  harbor  as  were  the  old  whalers  in  the 
docks  below.  I  told  these  old  captains  all  about  my  projectile, 
the  method  of  carrying  the  line,  and  paying  it  out  as  it  went 
through  the  air.  The  value  of  the  invention  struck  them  at 
once.  After  being  tied  up  at  Nantucket  for  near  a  week  a 
-thaw  came  and  I  left  for  home. 

In  the  summer  of  1881  M.  Sato,  the  original  importer  of 
Japanese  fireworks,  had  a  display  at  Nantasket  Beach.  At 
that  time  I  had  thought  I  had  learned  all  there  was  to  learn 
in  the  fireworks  business,  but  on  seeing  these  Japanese  dis- 
plays, I  was  made  to  realize  I  had  still  much  to  learn.  The 
long,  wooden  guns  standing  on  end,  so  tall  that  one  could 
hardly  reach  the  top,  from  which  the  shells  or  bombs  were 
projected  to  an  immense  height  in  the  air,  were  indeed  fine,  in 
the  day  showing  colored  smoke  with  all  kinds  of  figures,  men, 
women,  animals,  fish,  etc.,  and  in  the  evening  displaying  chains 
of  fire  and  most  wonderful  showers  of  golden  rain,  all  different 
and  so  unlike  the  fireworks  I  had  been  making.  I  was  com- 
pletely captivated,  and  went  to  experimenting;  finally  I  suc- 
ceeded in  imitating  nearly  all  that  the  Japanese  had  done, 
calling  my  new  fireworks  "Anglo-Japanese." 


In  the  "Eighties."  193 

While  I  was  experimenting  on  these  I  was  called  into  town 
by  my  agents,  Banfield  &  Forristall,  to  tell  me  that  there 
was  to  be  a  competitive  trial  at  the  Mechanics'  Fair,  by  the 
fireworks  makers,  for  the  best  display.  The  one  showing  the 
best  work  would  have  a  gold  medal,  the  second  best,  a  silver, 
and  the  third  best,  one  in  bronze.  I  remember  my  agents 
were  quite  afraid  of  my  going  into  this  trial,  for  fear  that  I 
might  not  win. 

My  experience  with  the  Japs  now  helped  me  out.  I  had 
succeeded  in  making  many  of  the  wonderful  things  the  Japa- 
nese had  shown  at  Nantasket.  Just  before  the  trial  Mast  en  & 
Wells  had  a  fire  in  their  factory,  so  they  were  out  of  the  con- 
test. Wedger  &  Hyde  were  my  competitors,  and  I  easily  won 
the  gold  medal.  Mr.  Masten,  an  old  pyrotechnist,  claimed  for 
three  years  that  if  he  had  been  in  this  contest  the  result  would 
have  been  different.  When  the  three  years  had  gone,  and  the 
Mechanics'  Fair  had  another  trial  for  a  gold  medal,  no  one 
came  up  as  a  competitor  with  me  but  Masten  &  Wells. 
As  before,  I  easily  won  the  medal,  the  third  from  that 
Society. 

After  my  first  display  I  invited  the  directors  of  the  Nan- 
tasket Hotel,  Messrs.  Whiting,  Ebed  Ripley,  Henry  Ripley  and 
Waters  Burr,  to  my  house,  where  I  gave  a  display  of  the 
"Anglo-Japanese"  fireworks.  They  awarded  me  the  contract 
to  furnish  their  displays  for  the  season  of  1882. 

This  season  was  a  very  enjoyable  one,  for  I  gave  an  after- 
noon show  and  one  in  the  evening ;  and  once  a  week,  a  day 
and  night  exhibition  of  aerial  shells  at  the  beach,  showing 
everything  I  could  devise.  After  the  display  was  over  for  the 
evening,  I  was  well  entertained  by  Messrs,  Russell  &  Sturgis, 
often  meeting  many  interesting  people.  One  night  I  met 
Mr.  Crane,  the  actor,  and  Harvey  Young,  the  noted  Boston 
portrait  painter.  This,  you  might  say,  was  a  jolly  time,  but 
it  was  a  little  too  fast  for  me.     As  with  all  things  the  season 


194  Reminiscences. 

ended,  and  the  next  year  witnessed  the  coming  of  the  great 
London  pyrotechnist,  James  Pain. 

He  gave  wonderfully  fine  displays ;  there  was  nothing  new, 
but  all  was  on  a  grand  scale.  Nothing  of  the  like  had  been 
seen  in  this  country.  At  the  end  of  the  season  I  was  invited 
to  give  a  display  in  competition  with  Pain,  for  which  I  was 
given  ^300.  When  I  got  to  the  beach  in  the  afternoon  Pain 
had  covered  a  great  part  with  an  enormous  display  of  pieces  of 
gigantic  size.  His  mortars  were  as  big  as  nail-casks,  and  in 
fact  he  must  have  been  frightened,  from  what  he  had  heard  of 
my  former  season's  success.  I  never  had  seen  so  large  a  display 
as  he  gave,  and  he  must  have  felt  vexed  to  think  he  had  spent 
so  much  powder  for  so  small  a  game.  The  whole  thing  was  a 
great  advertising  scheme  of  the  hotel  company,  and  it  brought 
an  immense  crowd. 

In  this  time  there  was  nothing  of  interest  to  relate  regarding 
my  life-saving  projectile.  I  was  at  work  making  and  fitting  out 
the  different  stations  on  the  Massachusetts  coast.  In  the  au- 
tumn of  1884  I  secured  the  contract  for  fireworks  at  the 
World's  Fair  in  New  Orleans,  through  the  services  of  a  Mr. 
Witte.  With  the  help  of  Robert  Bruce,  an  old  Enghsh  fire- 
worker, who  had  come  with  me  at  this  time,  he  superintended 
and  fired  the  displays.  Things  not  going  as  they  should,  I 
went  to  New  Orleans,  which  was  my  first  and  only  experience 
in  the  South.  I  was  there  several  days,  most  of  the  time  on 
the  Fair  grounds.  On  these  grounds  General  B.  F.  Butler 
had  his  camp  during  his  occupation  of  New  Orleans ;  close  by 
was  the  great  Mississippi  river,  but  on  account  of  the  high 
levees  on  its  banks  it  was  not  in  sight  from  the  Fair  grounds. 
Of  more  interest  to  me  than  all  else  in  the  grounds  were  the 
magnificent  live-oaks,  with  the  long  moss  hanging  from  their 
branches. 

In  going  to  New  Orleans  I  took  the  steamer  to  Norfolk,  Va., 
and  on  my  arrival  I  saw  that  I  was  in  a  new  world,  the  major- 


In  the  ''Eighties'*  195 

ity  of  the  population  being  negroes.  Here  I  stopped  one 
night,  called  on  one  or  two  customers  that  bought  my  fire- 
works, and  saw  the  market,  under  open  sheds,  carried  on  by 
negroes,  there  being  not  a  white  man  other  than  the  customers 
to  be  seen. 

On  the  following  morning  I  took  the  cars  for  Petersburg, 
where  I  saw  the  ruins  of  the  embankments  thrown  up  during 
the  Civil  War.  The  country  was  new  to  me,  and  full  of 
reminiscences  of  the  Rebellion,  and  all  the  names  of  towns 
seemed  familiar. 

After  leaving  Petersburg  I  crossed  the  James  river  at  Appo- 
mattox, the  scene  of  Lee's  surrender  and  a  place  never  to  be 
forgotten.  My  way  through  the  Alleghany  mountains  was 
the  most  picturesque  imaginable,  and  I  would  have  enjoyed 
things  much  more  had  I  not  drank  some  of  the  water  on  my 
way,  which  made  me  very  sick.  Passing  through  Chattanooga, 
I  went  on  to  Atlanta.  This  place  seemed  more  like  a  North- 
ern city  than  any  other  in  the  South.  Nearly  destroyed  by 
Sherman  in  his  "march  to  the  sea,"  when  I  saw  it  Atlanta 
was  a  new  city  of  modern  buildings.  Strange  to  say,  in  the 
hotel  where  I  stopped,  I  could  buy  neither  beer,  wine  nor 
whiskey,  other  than  by  getting  into  some  back-room  and  taking 
it  on  the  sly.  How  different  from  our  good  old  Boston,  that 
this  town  was  said  to  resemble  so  much ! 

On  my  way  from  Atlanta  I  went  through  the  city  of  Mont- 
gomery, the  "erstwhile"  seat  of  the  Confederate  Government. 
From  here  we  passed  through  the  pine  barrens  of  Alabama, 
crossing  the  muddy  Tombigbee  through  the  cane-brakes,  where 
I  was  always  looking  for  an  alligator.  We  next  arrived  at  Mo- 
bile,—  as  I  saw  it,  a  city  of  muddy  streets  and  plank  sidewalks, 
though  I  saw  little  of  the  town,  and  that  by  the  railroad  sta- 
tion and  river.  From  Mobile  my  way  through  Mississippi  was 
all  on  the  borders  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  was  a  fine  coun- 
try to  ride  through,  with  its  great  fields  and  beautiful  trees, 


196  Reminiscences. 

and  many  horses  grazing  about.  As  I  neared  New  Orleans 
the  road  was  through  immense  cane-brakes  and  forest  trees 
with  the  long  gray  moss  hanging  from  their  limbs.  On  arriv- 
ing in  the  city  I  went  to  the  store  of  Morris  McGraw,  a 
customer  of  mine.  Telling  him  of  my  trouble  from  the  water 
I  drank,  he  obtained  for  me  a  bottle  of  claret,  which  helped 
me,  and  until  I  reached  home  I  drank  nothing  else. 

In  my  journey  South  I  was  always  wondering  where  the 
Confederate  soldiers  came  from  who  fought  against  the  North, 
as  the  whole  country  seemed  so  barren. 

Previous  to  the  shipwrecks  at  Scituate  and  Nauset  in  1887, 
I  went  to  Washington  at  the  request  of  my  friends  of  the 
Massachusetts  Humane  Society.  They  wished  me  to  exhibit 
and  show  the  value  of  my  gun  and  projectile  to  those  in 
authority, —  Mr.  Kimball,  the  Superintendent,  and  others  of 
the  Life  Saving  Board.  I  had  letters  to  Mr.  Kimball  and 
others,  including  one  to  Captain  Schley  of  the  U.  S.  Navy 
(now  Admiral  Schley),  who  was  a  near  friend  of  Mr.  Crown- 
inshield.  As  in  England,  so  now,  from  the  fact  of  my  having 
such  men  back  of  me,  I  was  always  received  pleasantly,  all 
saying  they  would  do  their  best  to  help  me ;  but  in  place  of 
Thomas  Gray  of  London,  I  now  had  Superintendent  Kimball, 
of  the  U.  S.  Life  Saving  Service.  To  him  I  was  always  re- 
ferred. Mr.  Kimball  and  Lieutenant  Lyle  had  just  perfected 
the  so-called  Lyle  gun,  and  it  was  not  pleasant  to  have  a  rival 
in  this  business,  and  he  simply  a  fireworks-maker ;  but,  as  I 
have  said,  the  men  behind  me  could  not  be  ignored,  and  they 
must  perforce  give  me  this  trial.  One  who  helped  me  much 
was  Mr.  William  Allen,  brother  of  the  late  Frank  Allen.  He 
was  with  Collector  Simmons,  at  the  Custom  House  in  Boston, 
when  I  first  invented  my  projectile.  He  knew  Mr.  Kimball 
well,  and  was  a  great  aid  to  me.  To  make  the  matter  short, 
I  had  the  trial,  which  was  witnessed  by  Superintendent  Kim- 
ball and  others  interested,  and  as  usual  it  was  a  success. 


In  the  ''Eighties^  197 

In  these  trials  the  gun  never  failed,  for  from  much  practice  I 
learned  just  the  amount  of  powder  that  was  required  to  throw 
the  projectile  the  necessary  distance  without  breaking  the  line, 
and  I  never  exceeded  that  amount  except  on  one  occasion  of 
which  I  will  tell  later. 

In  1 88 1  I  had  one  order  from  the  Life  Saving  Board  at 
Washington  for  twenty  projectiles  to  use  in  the  Lyle  two-and- 
one-half  inch  gun.  Lyle  used  these  projectiles  and  made  a 
long  report  that  was  very  unsatisfactory,  and  the  matter  rested 
with  the  Life  Saving  Board  until  1887  and  1888.  In  these 
years  there  were  many  hard  storms  and  wrecks  on  our  Mass- 
achusetts coast,  and  my  projectile  was  shown  to  be  much  bet- 
ter than  Lieutenant  Lyle's.  Where  his  was  a  failure,  mine 
was  a  success. 

My  friends,  Mr.  Motley  and  Mr.  Crowninshield,  now  insisted 
on  the  Government's  giving  my  gun  and  projectile  a  final  trial, 
and  on  July  15,  1887,  I  met  Superintendent  Kimball  in  Bos- 
ton, and  made  arrangements  for  a  trial  at  Nantucket ;  the 
time,  the  following  October,  and  there  were  to  be  nine  series. 
The  whole  week  was  occupied  in  these  trials.  The  Govern- 
ment ordered  of  me  seventy-five  projectiles  and  lines,  also  pay- 
ing all  my  expenses. 

Some  year  or  more  previous  to  this,  my  old  friend  John  P. 
Lovell  had  become  interested  in  this  affair  of  mine,  wanting  to 
form  a  stock  company,  and  saying  to  me  that  there  were  men 
in  Weymouth  who  would  take  all  the  stock,  and  that  it  would 
put  ten  thousand  dollars  in  my  pocket.  This  was  tempting, 
but  I  said  "No,"  for  I  knew  better  than  he  did,  that  there  was 
no  money  in  the  thing,  and  I  wanted  no  disappointment.  I 
told  him  as  he  had  the  money  and  the  business  opportunity, 
we  would  share  alike.  I  manufacture  and  he  sell,  and  I  as- 
signed him  one-half  of  the  patent. 

At  that  time  I  was  losing  interest  in  the  matter,  for  it  was 
taking  my  attention  from  my  fireworks  business,  which  was 


198  Reminiscences. 

then  growing  rapidly.  It  was  a  relief  to  have  the  Lovells  take 
it  off  my  hands. 

When  the  trial  at  Nantucket  was  to  come  off,  Mr.  Lovell 
was  very  nervous,  fearing  I  would  not  be  successful  and  that  it 
would  injure  the  sale  of  the  guns  in  which  he  was  now  inter- 
ested. With  myself  it  was  otherwise.  I  had  waited  seven 
long  years  for  this  trial,  and  I  went  into  it  without  a  doubt  of 
my  success.  Mr.  Lovell  had  no  courage,  and  showed  lack  of 
faith  in  my  invention  when  it  came  to  a  trial  of  the  Lyle  gun 
backed  by  all  the  Government  officials.  Knowing  the  situation 
I  told  Mr.  Lovell  I  would  take  the  thing  into  my  own  hands 
and  he  need  have  nothing  to  do  with  it,  and  so  it  was  arranged. 

I  got  my  projectiles  and  lines  ready,  with  the  gun,  and  Oct. 
12,  1887,  went  to  Nantucket  with  my  son  Russell  for  the 
grand  trial.  There  I  met  Captain  Lyle,  Captain  Baby,  Lieu- 
tenant Ross,  Superintendent  Kimball  and  B.  C.  Sparrow,  Su- 
perintendent of  this  Life  Saving  District.  These  were  heavy 
weights  to  contend  with,  every  one  a  Government  official ;  but 
I  had  the  courage  born  of  conviction  and  was  not  afraid. 
After  shaking  hands  and  getting  acquainted,  we  went  to  a 
room  in  the  station  and  sat  around  a  table  to  talk  over  what 
we  were  to  do.  Captain  Lyle  was  not  particularly  pleasant, 
saying  that  the  Massachusetts  Humane  Society  should  have 
sent  one  of  its  members  to  witness  the  trial  and,  as  I  honestly 
think,  my  defeat.  I  told  him  Mr.  Crowninshield  could  not 
come  to  this  trial,  and  that  he  said  to  me  that  the  gun  would 
speak  for  itself.  Captain  Lyle  was  evidently  irritated  from 
having  this  trial  forced  upon  him  by  the  Humane  Society. 
However,  we  began  to  work  for  the  six  days'  trial.  With  my 
gun  I  used  a  reel  to  wind  the  shore  line.  I  had  two,  one  to 
wind  up  while  the  other  was  in  use.  The  Government  used  a 
faking  box  some  two  by  four  feet,  having  a  false  bottom  in 
which  were  a  number  of  wooden  pins  about  which  the  line  was 
carefully  laid.     When  all  was  in,  the  box  was  turned  over  and 


In  the  *' Eighties y  199 

the  false  bottom  was  removed,  and  it  was  ready  to  use.  Every 
day  each  gun  was  to  fire  ten  shots,  and  it  took  a  hay  cart  to 
carry  these  ten  faking  boxes  with  line  and  gun  to  the  place  of 
firing,  while  my  apparatus  could  be  carried  in  a  wheelbarrow. 

After  firing,  the  Government  lines  were  gathered  up  and 
taken  to  the  station  to  be  refaked  ;  but  as  it  took  quite  a  time 
for  each,  this  work  was  done  each  night.  As  stated,  we  were 
to  fire  ten  times  each  day,  and  the  charges  of  powder  and 
kinds  were  stated  for  each  day's  use.  I  remember  being  a 
little  nervous  on  the  first  day,  but  after  a  few  shots  I  saw  I 
had  nothing  to  fear.     My  shots  always  carried  the  line  further. 

We  were  all  stopping  at  the  Springfield  House,  and  after 
each  day's  trial  returned  there  for  our  dinner.  Now  this 
hotel  had  no  open  bar,  but  down  in  the  basement,  in  an  out- 
of-the-way  place,  we  all  gathered  and  had  a  social  drink.  For- 
getting the  day's  trials,  all  were  good  friends.  The  verdict 
of  these  men  from  Washington  was  this :  that  never  had  they 
found  so  good  a  table  as  at  this  hotel.  It  was  past  the  season 
of  the  summer  visitors,  and  we  had  all  the  good  things  to 
ourselves. 

In  the  program  laid  out,  the  charge  of  gunpowder  was 
indicated  for  each  day's  trial ;  but  finding  the  Lyle  gun  was 
much  handicapped  by  the  small  charges,  I  said  to  Lyle  that 
he  could  use  what  charge  he  chose.  This  was  done  at  the 
expense  of  a  crack  in  one  gun  which  disabled  it,  and  spoiling 
a  fine  gun-carriage.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  I  had  but 
one  gun,  while  the  Government  had  many. 

The  last  day's  trial  was  the  most  satisfactory,  as  we  shot 
against  a  strong  wind  blowing  twenty  miles  an  hour ;  but  my 
projectile  reached  on  an  average  one  hundred  feet  further  than 
the  Lyle  gun.  This  puzzled  Superintendent  Kimball  much; 
he  could  not  see  through  the  thing  at  all,  why  the  five  ounces 
of  powder  that  I  used  in  this  trial  should  carry  the  line  fur- 
ther than  the  nine  ounces  used  in  the  Lyle  gun. 


200  Reminiscences. 

During  these  trials  the  guns  were  fired  simultaneously,  so 
that  each  gun  would  have  the  same  conditions.  As  the  trials 
went  on  each  day,  the  superiority  of  my  gun  was  seen.  Be- 
fore each  gun-fire  the  Government  men  would  gather  around 
their  little  gun  and  consult.  Captain  Baby  (pronounced 
Bawbee)  would  say  to  me  (he  seeming  much  more  friendly 
than  the  others  at  this  trial),  *'  Mr.  Hunt,  that  Lyle  gun  needs 
a  deal  of  coddling."  But  coddling  did  not  help  matters.  Un- 
der the  same  conditions  the  Lyle  gun  was  whipped  every 
time. 

After  we  had  completed  our  day's  work  and  had  our  dinner, 
we  spent  a  pleasant  evening.  Lyle  and  Baby  had  seen  much 
of  the  world,  and  were  pleasant  companions.  I  think  Super- 
intendent Kimball  was  more  disappointed  at  the  failure  of  the 
Lyle  gun  than  the  others.  He  seemed  never  to  have  com- 
prehended my  invention  of  carrying  the  line  in  the  projectile. 

It  was  my  misfortune  that  Captain  Baby  died  soon  after 
the  Nantucket  trials,  and  had  no  voice  in  making  up  the 
report.  From  first  to  last  he  was  interested  in  my  invention, 
and  his  death  delayed  the  report  of  the  trial  nearly  a  year. 
As  there  were  no  newspaper  reporters  on  the  ground,  nothing 
went  out  to  the  public,  and  nothing  was  known  of  the  trial 
outside  of  the  immediate  party.  I  had  much  encouragement 
from  the  folks  in  Nantucket,  who  were  all  on  my  side.  After 
all  was  through,  my  gun  and  shot  were  weighed  and  notes 
taken  for  Superintendent  Kimball's  report. 

None  of  the  Lovells  came  to  this  trial,  strange  to  say,  nor 
any  one  of  the  Humane  Society,  Mr.  Crowninshield  being 
fixed  so  he  could  not  get  there.  My  son  Russell  and  myself 
carried  on  the  trials  alone,  with  no  encouragement  or  help 
from  others  save  Captain  Baby. 

The  report  approved  the  methods,  and  recommended  the 
apparatus  for  stations  where  a  long  range  was  needed.  In 
a  short  time  I  received  a  Government  order  to  fit  out   ten 


In  the  ^* Eighties y  201 

stations.  This  was  a  sop  to  keep  my  friends  and  myself 
quiet. 

The  cost  of  this  trial  at  Nantucket  was  paid  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. My  expenses  were  fourteen  hundred  dollars.  Super- 
intendent Kimball  sent  me  the  money,  and  I  remember  well 
what  I  wrote  him  in  return  :  "  Mr.  Kimball,  I  have  received 
your  check,  and  to  think  it  should  have  cost  the  Government 
this  amount  to  find  out  what  all  New  England  knew ! "  It  was 
not  business,  but  an  expression  of  my  mind. 

This  was  the  last  I  had  to  do  with  the  Life-saving  busi- 
ness, as  the  Lovells  continued  to  carry  it  on,  and  gave  me 
a  royalty  on  the  guns  sold.  When  their  financial  troubles 
came  on,  it  ended  the  thing  completely,  so  far  as  I  was 
interested. 

In  ending,  I  will  say  of  this  gun  and  projectile  that  I  in- 
vented :  I  never  expected  to  reap  any  benefit  in  the  way  of 
money,  knowing  that  our  Government  had  spent  large  sums 
in  perfecting  the  Lyle  gun,  which  seemingly  answered  all  re- 
quirements. The  invention  was  an  idea  that  came  into  my 
head,  and  I  simply  carried  it  out  to  completion.  When  it  was 
perfected  and  there  was  no  more  experimenting  on  it,  I  was 
tired  of  the  whole  thing  and  glad  to  have  some  one  take  it  off 
my  hands.  My  pleasure  came  in  the  many  good  friends  I 
made  in  the  Humane  Society,  and  in  my  trial  at  Nantucket, 
where  I  completely  defeated  the  Government  officials  with 
their  apparatus. 

Some  eight  years  ago  (1898)  I  was  invited  by  William  Caleb 
Loring  (later  Judge  Loring)  to  dine  with  him  after  witnessing 
a  gun  trial  —  the  Hunt  gun  and  projectile  —  at  his  home  at 
Pride's  Crossing,  at  Beverly  on  the  North  shore.  That  was 
a  pleasant  time,  but  all  there  were  new  faces.  All  my  old 
friends  were  dead. 

In  April,  1891,  I  received  the  following  letter  from  my  old 
friend  Mr.  Crowninshield : 


202  Reminiscences. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Hunt :  —  The  Trustees  at  their  meeting  yesterday 
voted  you  the  gold  medal  for  your  eminent  services  in  life  saving  in 
inventing  the  Hunt  gun  and  projectile.  In  due  course  of  time  you 
will  get  it,  and  1  will  in  a  letter  say  how  many  people  we  have  res- 
cued by  the  gun,  and  how  many  shots  we  fired  to  do  it.  I  want  to 
add  for  myself  that  I  am  almost  as  much  pleased  to  write  this  as  you 
can  be  to  receive  it. 

Believe  me  always,  very  truly  yours, 

B.  W.  Crowninshield." 

Shortly  after  receiving  this  letter,  I  called  at  his  oflfice  in 
Boston  to  thank  him,  and  he  told  me  he  was  just  going  across 
the  water  for  a  few  months.  I  bade  him  good-by,  and  never 
saw  him  again,  as  he  died  in  Florence.  Mr.  Crowninshield 
seemed  nearer  to  me  than  any  other  member  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Humane  Society.  He  was  a  fine  musician,  and 
always  interested Jn  yachting. 


Chapter  VII.     Miscellaneous  Events. 


jN  1854  there  were  but  two  religious  societies  in 
the  village,  the  Union  Congregational  Society 
and  the  Universal  ist.  The  latter  was  organized 
June  II,  1836,  and  their  meetings  were  held  in 
the  Asa  B.  Wales  Hall.  Later  the  Society  built 
a  church  which  was  dedicated  Sept.  13,  1839.  Rev.  John 
Stetson  Barry,  author  of  the  "  History  of  Massachusetts " 
(1857),  was  the  first  Universalist  minister  of  the  village  in 
1839 ;  then  came  the  Rev.  John  M.  Spear,  who  preached  from 
1840  to  1844.  I  well  remember  him,  for  in  his  time  came 
the  great  temperance  revival  in  which  all  the  village  were  so 
much  interested.  In  the  last  of  his  pastorate  Mr.  Spear  de- 
veloped into  a  strong  spiritualist,  and  in  fact  advocated  free 
love.  Then  came  Rev.  E.  W.  Coffin,  who  supplied  for  a  short 
time  in  1845,  ^^^  ^^  1846  Rev.  John  S.  Dennis;  then  in 
1847  Rev.  John  S.  Barry  again  became  pastor,  and  remained 
until  1850.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  Hemphill,  who  in 
turn  was  here  in  185 1,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William  G. 
Cambridge,  whom  I  remember  from  his  book,  "  The  Web  and 
Woof  of  Life." 

In  1852  Rev.  Daniel  P.  Livermore,  husband  of  the  late 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  so  noted  in  recent  years,  was  the 
pastor.     He  remained  until   1854,  when  he  was  followed  by 


204  Reminiscences. 

Rev.  John  E.  Davenport,  quite  a  young  man,  who  afterwards 
preached  in  Hingham.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles 
W.  Mellen  in  1855.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  know  Mr, 
Mellen  well,  as  I  attended  his  church. 

In  i860  Rev,  D.  F.  Goddard,  an  eccentric  man,  became  pas- 
tor. He  preached  one  Sunday  from  Emerson,  the  next  from 
Carlyle,  and  in  the  end  became  a  spiritualist.  With  his  pas- 
torate ended  my  church  going.  In  1854  this  church  seemed 
to  be  in  the  height  of  its  prosperity,  most  of  our  people  then 
attending. 

About  1836  came  much  trouble  in  the  Union  Church,  Rev. 
Jonas  Perkins  was  an  anti-slavery  man,  but  not  an  Abolitionist, 
for  they  did  not  believe  in  the  church  but  wanted  to  pull  the 
church  down,  Mr,  Perkins  would  not  read  notices  of  their 
meetings  from  his  pulpit,  and  this  began  the  trouble  which 
ended  in  the  excommunication  of  many  who  had  been  promi- 
nent in  the  Union  Church  for  years.  It  seems  strange  that 
Calvinists  could  go  into  a  Universalist  church,  but  so  they  did, 
and  became  in  the  end  most  attached  to  that  faith. 

There  were  a  few,  however,  of  ultra-abolitionists  who  held 
themselves  aloof  and  went  by  themselves.  These  were  de- 
nominated "  Come-outers,"  and  at  times  held  meetings  in  Lib- 
erty Hall ;  but  when  the  abolition  movement  subsided,  these 
people  all  came  into  the  Universalist  Church.  Fifty  years  ago 
this  church  had  no  communion  service,  nor  a  scholar's  gown. 
Then  the  desire  was  to  be  primitive. 

Fifty  years  ago,  where  stands  the  great  church  of  the  Sacred 
Heart,  was  Mr.  Wales's  pear  orchard,  and  near  by  was  M,  F. 
Reed's  store ;  the  fine  parsonage  was  Wales's  hotel.  Then 
there  was  not  one  Roman  Catholic  church  in  town ;  to-day 
there  are  four,  and  all  filled  on  Sundays  to  their  utmost  capac- 
ity ;  while  in  our  village  are  four  Protestant  churches  not  filled. 
One  may  well  consider  Macaulay's  prophecy  of  the  traveler 
from  New  Zealand. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  205 

Some  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  the  Old  North  Church 
was  burned,  and  about  1752  another  meeting-house  was 
erected.  That  building  stood  for  eighty  years,  and  many  were 
the  good  men  who  officiated  there,  the  two  most  noted  and 
most  favorably  remembered  being  Rev.  William  Smith  and 
Rev.  Jacob  Norton, 

In  1832  the  old  church  was  sold  and  removed.  It  was 
purchased  by  Whitcomb  Porter,  who  erected  it  again  on  the 
corner  of  Broad  and  Washington  streets,  on  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Baptist  Church.  Here  it  was  used  as  a  bake- 
house, and  I  remember  the  great  brick  ovens  in  the  rear. 
Thus  the  old  church,  that  for  eighty  years  had  fed  men's  souls 
spiritually,  was  now  used  to  feed  men's  bodies  physically. 
The  old  timbers  and  boards  that  for  eighty  years  had  echoed 
the  eloquence  of  noted  divines  rebelled,  and  the  bake-house 
was  a  failure.  In  1836  it  was  changed  to  a  dwelling-house, 
and  occupied  by  my  cousin,  Atherton  N.  Hunt. 

In  1865,  when  the  Baptist  Church  was  built,  the  house  and 
stable  were  moved  back  on  Broad  street,  where  they  now 
stand,  —  the  larger  house,  the  old  bake-shop ;  the  smaller,  the 
stable.  The  columns  of  the  portico  lately  removed  were  those 
that  were  under  the  gallery  of  the  old  church. 

Eighty  years  ago  in  the  respectful  families  of  the  town,  the 
Sabbath,  so  called  in  "ye  olden  times,"  began  on  the  going 
down  of  the  sun  on  the  Saturday  preceding.  In  the  family 
of  my  grandfather  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt,  all  unnecessary 
work  was  then  put  aside  and  the  Sabbath  began.  At  the 
setting  of  the  sun  next  day  the  Sabbath  ended. 

This  is  impressed  on  my  mind  from  the  story  which  my 
father  told  me  of  his  courting  days.  His  love  lived  in  Dr. 
Storrs's  parish  in  Braintree,  and  as  my  father  had  a  long  walk 
across  lots  he  wanted  an  early  start.  So,  from  his  impatience, 
he  would  sometimes  leave  home  before  the  Sabbath  sun  had 
set.     His  father,  the  deacon,  if    seeing  him,  would  call  out : 


2o6  Reminiscences. 

"  Elias,  come  back ;  the  sun  has  not  set,"  and  my  father 
always  obeyed.  "  My  eyes  make  pictures  when  they  are 
shut." 

I  quote  from  the  School  Report  for  1 844 :  — 

"  The  attention  of  the  town  is  called  by  the  committee  to  one 
thing  which,  however,  may  by  some  be  considered  of  little  import- 
ance ;  it  is  the  subject  of  weekly  vacations.  Long  established  usage 
through  most,  if  not  all  the  towns  of  New  England,  has  allowed  the 
school  dismission  for  the  week  at  noon  of  Saturdays.  This  practice 
rests  on  very  substantial  reasons.  It  furnishes  the  children  with  a 
weekly  half-holiday,  and  gives  the  parents  an  opportunity  to  employ 
them  in  certain  preparations"  for  the  Sabbath,  which  are  found 
necessary  in  most  families,  without  taking  them  from  regular  school 
hours ;  or  it  may  furnish  the  children  an  opportunity  to  prepare  for 
their  Sabbath-school  lessons,  etc. 

"Per  School  Committee, 

"  Rev.  Stephen  Lovell, 
"  Dr.  Appleton  Howe, 
"  Rev.  Joshua  Emery." 

My  cousin,  Richard  A.  Hunt,  told  me  that  when  he  got  his 
violin,  his  mother  was  much  opposed  to  his  playing  it,  as  at 
that  time  the  violin  was  called  the  "devil's  instrument." 
Then  the  so-called  "  round  dances "  were  not  tolerated,  but 
the  stately  cotillion  and  the  old-fashioned  country  dance  were 
permitted. 

Now,  on  Saturday  nights,  our  folks  "  trip  the  light  fantastic 
toe"  in  round  dances  to  the  sweet  sounds  of  the  wicked  fiddle 
of  old,  and  the  young  enjoy  themselves  while  their  parents  look 
on.  Why  not  ?  Our  churches  are  now  filled  with  the  melo- 
dies and  gayeties  of  the  day.  In  truth,  it  is  a  happy  time  for 
those  who  have  but  lately  tasted  a  good  thing.  Still,  yesterday 
is  the  best  day  we  have  known. 

If  one  desires  to  know  of  the  past,  how  his  ancestors  lived  in 
the  olden  times,  let  him  get  an  old  account-book  of  the  days 


Miscellaneous  Events.  207 

when  money  was  scarce,  and  every  item  bought  was  charged 
in  the  day-book.  Such  a  book  has  come  into  my  possession 
through  the  kindness  of  a  friend.  This  old  book  was  loaned 
with  the  promise  that  I  would  not  mention  any  of  the  names 
found  on  its  pages.  There  was  no  name  in  the  book  telling 
to  whom  it  originally  belonged,  but  by  good  luck,  I  found 
among  some  old  papers  the  names  of  the  voters  in  the  North 
Precinct  of  the  town  in  1826.  With  the  aid  of  this  list  I 
checked  off  most  of  the  names  in  this  account-book,  and  so 
located  the  old  store  in  the  middle  of  the  town. 

In  1826  Weymouth  was  small  in  population  and  poor  in 
purse,  the  folks  living  upon  what  they  could  raise  on  the  land, 
and  by  making  a  few  shoes  they  earned  enough  to  pay  small 
grocery  bills  at  the  store.  What  they  needed  from  the  store 
were  spices,  molasses,  tobacco,  loaf-sugar,  a  little  tea,  and  flour 
in  seven  and  fourteen  pound  lots.  Coffee  is  never  mentioned 
in  the  book.  Every  country  store  then  sold  New  England 
rum,  brandy,  cherry  rum  and  cider.  Almost  every  one  who 
came  to  this  store  bought  among  other  things  a  glass  of  New 
England  or  cherry  rum,  or  sometimes  brandy  or  cider.  In 
looking  over  the  old  books  I  thought  I  had  found  one  who  did 
not  indulge,  but  afterwards  I  discovered  that  that  one  bought 
by  the  gallon  and  so  had  no  drinks  charged. 

The  old  store  was  a  village  inn  where  all  gathered  to  learn 
the  news  and  gossip.  In  one  day  twenty-four  bought  rum, 
cider  or  brandy,  out  of  thirty-one  who  were  charged  up  for  the 
day.  One  glass  of  rum  cost  two  cents;  two  "short-six"  cigars 
one  cent ;  a  cake  of  gingerbread  one  cent ;  this  sale  was  fre- 
quently made  to  a  customer  in  a  day.  The  sales  of  a  day 
frequently  amounted  to  ^3.50.  Rum  was  forty-eight  cents 
a  gallon,  and  molasses  was  the  same  price. 

These  people  were  not  intemperate.  They  were  the  ances- 
tors of  some  of  the  best  families  in  the  village.  This  store 
was  typical  of  all  the  stores  of  those  times.     When  a  small 


2o8  Reminiscences. 

boy,  I  remember  seeing  my  father's  store  just  as  this  one  I 
tell  of ;  everything  a  customer  bought,  be  it  molasses  or  rum, 
was  charged  on  a  book.  No  man  paid  cash,  and  some 
even  borrowed  a  dollar  or  two,  which  was  charged  on  the 
books. 

The  dwellings  of  those  who  traded  at  the  old  store  are, 
with  few  exceptions,  standing  to-day.  They  were  all  of  one 
pattern  —  of  one  story,  two  front  rooms,  a  long  kitchen  with 
the  big  fire-place  and  crane  to  hang  the  kettle  on,  and  at  one 
side  an  oven.  At  one  end  of  the  room  was  the  bedroom ;  at 
the  other  the  buttery,  where  was  kept  the  home-made  cheese, 
the  great  loaves  of  rye  bread,  baked  on  the  bottom  of  the 
brick  oven.     They  stood  on  edge  around  the  buttery. 

These  houses  were  comfortable  in  the  summer  but  fearfully 
cold  in  the  winter.  Then  no  one  was  troubled,  as  now,  about 
the  high  price  of  coal,  for  none  had  come  to  town  then.  Wood 
was  plenty,  for  the  cutting.  The  great  fire-place  with  its 
roaring  fire,  the  high-backed  settle  on  which  sat  the  old  people, 
the  children  playing  around,  or  popping  corn  in  the  ashes,  — 
all  made  the  old  kitchen  pleasant. 

Our  old  histories  tell  of  kings  and  queens,  lords  and  ladies  ; 
but  our  later  histories  make  much  of  the  ways  of  the  common 
people.  Little  was  ever  said  about  the  boys  and  girls.  Then 
they  had  no  base  ball,  but  played  "skip"  and  "barn-tick" 
against  the  barn.  Foot  ball  came  once  a  year,  when  the  hog 
was  killed  in  the  fall.  The  bladder  was  blown  up  with  a  pipe- 
stem,  and  the  "  snozzle  "  tied  tight,  —  a  crude  thing,  the  Har- 
vard and  Yale  boys  would  have  thought,  but  the  fun  of  the 
thing  was  as  great  as  to-day. 

In  those  days  the  girls  must  have  had  a  dull  time ;  the  one 
pleasant  thing  was  the  singing-school  held  in  every  village, 
and  usually  in  the  vestry  of  the  church,  on  Saturday  night. 
Here  the  young  folks  came  together,  learned  to  sing,  got 
acquainted,  fell  in  love,  and  did  their  courting.     The  vestry  in 


Miscellaneous  Events.  209 

the  Old  North  Church  was  a  long  way  from  the  old  store,  but 
what  road  was  ever  too  long  for  two  lovers  ? 

In  1826  there  was  no  Broad  street,  and  to  get  to  the  Land- 
ing, then  the  largest  village  in  town,  folks  had  to  go  by  way  of 
North  Weymouth,  around  by  the  Old  North  Church  and  over 
Joe  Loud's  hill.  Then  the  tavern,  so  long  kept  by  Mr.  Wales, 
was  carried  on  by  Col.  Abraham  Thayer,  and  no  doubt  the 
folk  living  around  the  old  store  went  to  the  Landing,  when 
there  was  a  dance  in  the  hall  of  the  hotel.  On  Sunday  all 
the  people  attended  church,  going  to  the  Old  North,  where 
the  Rev.  Josiah  Bent,  Jr.,  preached.  This  was  the  day  that 
brought  all  together.  Many  who  came  from  a  distance  brought 
their  lunches,  staying  at  noon.  Here  the  men  talked  over  the 
prospects  of  the  crops  in  the  summer,  the  number  of  bushels 
of  corn  or  potatoes,  or  the  weight  of  the  hog  in  the  fall ;  while 
the  women  folks  told  of  the  children  sick  with  the  measles  or 
mumps,  or  of  those  lately  born  or  about  to  be. 

These  clubless  days  were  the  days  of  large  families,  and  the 
mothers  had  all  they  could  attend  to  at  home.  As  a  boy  I 
remember  my  mother  attending  on  Thursdays  the  Mothers' 
meeting,  which  was  the  only  break  in  the  week  other  than 
Sunday. 

If  one  walks  through  an  old  burying  ground,  he  will  find  on 
the  headstones  the  names  of  those  who  married  at  seventeen 
and  died  at  twenty-four  or  thereabouts,  leaving  three  or  four 
children.  Then  there  were  no  scandals  of  divorce,  but  the 
poor,  tired  woman  was  divorced  from  this  world  by  the  hard, 
toilsome  life  she  led.  In  looking  back,  it  seems  to  me  that 
men  had  by  far  an  easier  lot  than  women.  They  worked  in 
the  little  shop  beside  the  house,  in  which  they  were  free  to  do 
as  they  wished,  so  unlike  our  factory  people  of  to-day. 

The  old  store  was  their  mecca,  where  when  hungry  or  thirsty, 
they  found  a  place  of  companionship  and  good  cheer,  like  Sam 
Johnson's  inn.     Seldom  do  I  find  in  the  old  book  the  charge 


2 1  o  Reminiscences. 

of  whale  oil,  and  when  it  was  charged  it  was  at  the  high  price 
of  one  dollar  a  gallon,  showing  that  the  people  used  mostly  tal- 
low dips  or  candles.  A  candle  mould  was  a  necessary  article 
in  the  family,  and  we  often  find  one  now  in  the  old  houses. 
There  is  no  mention  of  cloth  of  any  kind  for  clothing,  indicat- 
ing that  homespun  was  still  in  use.  Dry  goods  were  very 
dear ;  common  calico  was  forty-eight  cents  a  yard,  cotton  cloth 
twenty  cents,  while  tobacco  was  sold  at  only  twenty-five  cents 
a  pound. 

To  return  to  the  homes  of  the  best  families  of  the  village. 
In  winter  we  see  the  family  gathered  close  around  the  great 
blazing  fire  in  the  open  fireplace ;  the  tea-kettle  is  singing  on 
the  crane;  the  uncertain  light  is  throwing  shadows  on  the 
wall ;  by  the  faint  light  of  a  tallow  candle  one  is  trying  to 
read  —  what,  I  cannot  think,  unless  the  Bible  or  Fox's  Book 
of  Martyrs,  as  they  seem  to  have  been  in  every  home. 

Other  than  the  books  mentioned,  there  were  no  books, 
magazines  or  newspapers,  excepting  the  almanac.  The  family 
went  to  bed  at  an  early  hour,  from  the  little  comfort  of  sitting 
up ;  yes,  and  little  comfort  in  bed,  smothered  under  heavy 
bed-quilts.  Before  retiring,  the  head  of  the  family  read  a 
chapter  of  the  Bible,  mixed  the  "hot  toddy,"  and  went  to  bed 
in  a  little  bedroom  at  the  end  of  the  kitchen,  with  the  younger 
members  in  the  trundle  bed  beneath.  Who  can  wonder  that 
folks  came  together  in  the  old  store  around  the  great  stove, 
where  rum  was  two  cents  a  glass  and  good  cigars  at  two  for  a 
cent } 

Sunday  was  the  great  holiday.  All  went  to  church, —  some 
perhaps  from  the  principle  of  getting  their  money's  worth,  for 
go  or  not,  all  were  taxed  to  pay  the  preacher.  There  was  no 
escape,  —  your  property  would  be  taken  for  those  taxes.  In 
fact,  many  went  no  doubt  to  hear  the  hot  Calvinistic  doctrine, 
it  being  the  only  warm  thing  in  the  week  aside  from  their 
"toddy." 


Miscellaneous  Events.  2ii 

As  I  have  told,  the  men  seem  to  have  had  pleasanter  times 
than  their  wives,  for  did  they  not  have  the  May  training? 
Then  all  who  could  bear  arms  were  required  to  turn  out  with 
muskets,  flints  and  cartridges.  This  was  a  great  day ;  fun 
ruled  the  hours  when  the  State  militia  was  paraded  for  inspec- 
tion. My  father  used  to  tell  me  of  one  of  those  times  when 
Colonel  Humphrey  the  inspector,  passing  one  man  in  the  line, 
saw  his  gun  without  a  lock.  Examining  the  gun,  he  said, 
"This  gun  is  fwii  compos  mentis^  As  this  was  Latin,  it  was 
strange  to  all. 

In  those  days  there  was  a  Horse  Company  in  town,  and  my 
grandfather  was  the  commander.  In  course  of  time  he  gave 
up  his  commission  and  retired,  and  the  Company  met  at 
the  old  Deacon's  house,  where  he  entertained  the  officers  in 
his  kitchen  and  the  privates  in  his  barn.  This  my  father 
described  to  me.  As  usual,  there  could  be  no  good  time  with- 
out rum,  and  they  had  all  they  wanted,  in  the  end  getting 
pretty  well  "fuddled."  The  Company  carried  horse-pistols, 
which  they  fired  up  the  chimney  in  the  old  kitchen,  and,  as 
was  remarked,  had  a  "divvil  of  a  time."  Deacon  Hunt  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  old  Union  Church,  and  this  affair 
did  not  discredit  him  in  the  least. 

In  the  autumn  came  the  Division  muster,  when  those  who 
did  not  train  in  the  ranks  had  booths  on  the  muster-field  and 
sold  cider,  rum  and  other  intoxicants,  besides  gingerbread  and 
clam  chowder,  turning  many  a  penny.  After  the  crops  had 
been  gathered  in,  came  the  husking  parties  ;  these  were  jolly 
times ;  after  the  corn  was  husked  there  was  a  good  supper. 

Fast  day  was  kept  as  strictly  as  Sunday  ;  no  work  or  play 
was  done,  all  went  to  church.  Of  our  Independence  day  I 
find  no  mention  other  than  this  of  John  Adams  :  — 

"  The  great  anniversary  ought  to  be  solemnized  with  pomp,  and 
parade,  bells,  bonfires  and  illuminations,  from  one  end  of  the  conti- 
nent to  the  other,  from  this  time  forward  forevermore." 


212  Reminiscences. 

We  will  now  leave  the  old  account  book  and  get  into  the 
Landing,  and  see  how  things  were  going  there.  Major  Caleb 
Stetson,  Asa  Webb  and  Tufts  &  Whittemore  kept  the  country 
stores,  —  all  located  in  Washington  square.  These,  with  the 
hotel,  had  open  bars,  and  sold  rum  by  the  gallon  and  glass. 
In  1830  the  population  of  Weymouth  was  2,839, 

Charles  Francis  Adams  in  his  "Three  Episodes  of  Massa- 
chusetts History,"  well  tells  the  story  of  the  country  store 
and  tavern  in  the  town  of  Quincy.  In  those  days  it  seems 
as  though  every  one  was  saturated  with  New  England  rum. 
In  reading  of  the  coming  of  the  Mayflower,  one  finds  that  in 
their  dire  troubles,  the  spirits  brought  over  in  the  hold  of  that 
vessel  was  the  help  that  carried  them  through  the  winter.  In 
converting  the  heathen  to  Christianity,  the  ship's  hold  was 
stored  with  New  England  rum  while  above  was  the  missionary. 
In  reading  the  life  of  Washington,  it  appears  that  rum  was 
what  he  used  to  tempt  the  Indians  from  their  French  alliance. 
Rum  was  the  great  factor  in  all  dealings  with  the  Indians.  It 
enticed  them  to  their  destruction,  and  our  good  ancestors  never 
converted  them  first  as  good  father  Robinson  across  the  water 
wanted  them  to  do.  No,  to  quote  a  familiar  saying :  "  They 
first  fell  on  their  knees,  and  then  on  the  aborigines." 

It  is  common  for  old  men  to  tell  of  the  good  times  of  long 
ago,  but  "  distance  lends  enchantment  to  the  view ; "  there 
never  was  a  better  than  to-day  —  so  ends  this  bit  of  folk  lore. 

As  the  town  has  appropriated  (1903)  the  munificent  sum  of 
two  hundred  dollars  for  an  Old  Home  Week  celebration,  I 
have  been  contriving  how  it  can  use  this  money  so  as  to  get 
the  best  results.  At  first  I  thought  the  old  Town  Hall  would 
be  the  place  to  celebrate  in,  but  after  arranging  everything  to 
my  mind  it  occurred  to  me  as  an  afterthought  that  it  had  been 
used  as  a  small  pox  hospital,  and  this  upset  all  my  calculations. 
So  after  thinking  the  whole  matter  over,  I  concluded  that  it 
would  be  better  to  divide  the  two  hundred  dollars  into  four 


Miscellaneous  Events.  213 

parts,  giving  the  North,  East,  South  and  Landing  villages  fifty 
dollars  each ;  or  in  other  words  to  fine  the  matter  down,  each 
voter  would  have  one  shilling  (sixteen  and  two-thirds  cents)  for 
a  week's  celebration.  This  is  liberal,  though  I  think  the  town 
will  not  have  to  borrow. 

Now,  to  make  the  matter  short,  I  would,  supposing  the 
money  appropriated  by  the  town  was  divided,  and  the  Landing 
received  fifty  dollars,  take  the  old  Sam  Arnold  tavern  on  the 
corner  near  the  Square.  This  house  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest 
and  most  noted  we  have  in  our  village.  Tradition  says  that 
General  Washington,  when  on  his  visit  to  Weymouth,  was  the 
guest  of  Landlord  Arnold,  and  that  there  is  a  button  in  one  of 
our  families  which  came  from  Washington's  coat,  and  which 
was  supposed  to  have  been  slyly  confiscated.  No  doubt  our 
neighbors  who  celebrate  in  other  parts  of  the  town  will  feel  a 
little  envious  of  our  traditions,  but  they  can  have  Washington 
pie.  Why  not  .-*  —  notwithstanding  what  Dr.  Holmes  said,  that 
he  liked  all  kinds  of  pie  with  the  exception  of  "  Father  of  his 
Country  "  pie.  That  was  all  right  for  Dr.  Holmes  to  say,  but 
his  father  might  have  thought  otherwise,  as  those  who  live  in 
Weymouth. 

Having  settled  on  the  old  hotel  as  a  fit  place  to  celebrate  in, 
we  will  now  lay  out  the  order  of  arrangements.  Beginning 
with  the  parlor,  or  front  room,  I  would  hang  the  walls  with 
some  old  portraits  of  our  ancestors  (there  must  be  quite  a 
number  of  Stuarts  and  Copleys  about  in  the  village,  which 
would  be  cheerfully  loaned  by  the  owners) ;  nothing  would 
do  so  much  to  give  an  aristocratic  air.  Then  a  thousand- 
legged  table  ;  they  are  easily  found,  for  did  not  several  hundred 
come  over  in  the  Mayflower  ?  Then  the  tall  clock  standing 
in  the  corner,  chairs  with  straw  bottoms,  the  sofa  in  hair-cloth 
—  all  were  in  fashion  in  the  old  home,  years  ago,  in  the  best 
families  ;  a  Chippendale  table  standing  under  the  quaint  look- 
ing-glass, and  upon  it  the  family  Bible  and  Book  of  Martyrs. 


214  Reminiscences. 

The  floor  we  will  have  carpeted  with  braided  rugs,  made  from 
old  trousers  and  coats  of  men  and  boys,  such  that  if  given  to  a 
tramp  to-day  would  be  thrown  on  to  the  first  fence  or  wood 
pile.     So  much  for  the  front  room. 

In  those  old-home  times,  the  kitchen  was  the  living  room  of 
the  family.  In  this  house  I  fear  the  great  fireplace  is  a  thing 
of  the  past,  but  we  will  "shut  our  eyes  and  make  pictures." 
To-day,  to  have  a  highboy  in  the  family  gives  a  certain  claim 
to  the  past  that  many  want.  We  will  next  have  the  cradle, 
once  found  in  every  household,  but  now  in  the  best  regulated 
families  rarely,  if  ever,  found.  Then  we  will  have  the  wooden 
table  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  —  the  dining  table,  surrounded 
with  wooden-bottom  chairs.  In  the  old-home  days  this  table 
was  simply  covered  with  an  oil  cloth.  This  saved  much  work 
where  servants  were  wanting,  for  simply  a  sweep  of  the  dish, 
cloth  prepared  the  table  for  another  meal.  This  table  of  ours 
must  be  covered  with  oil  cloth,  —  no  napkins,  for  napkins  were 
unknown.  Then  there  must  be  the  great  wooden  settle  before 
the  fireplace.     This  completes  the  kitchen. 

Now,  nothing  can  be  done  in  having  a  good  time  without 
feasting,  for  does  not  our  New  England  Thanksgiving  depend 
upon  the  dinner,  and  did  not  the  good  Deacon  Newcomb  say, 
"  Feed  your  pastor  well  and  make  your  path  easy  to  heaven  "  ? 
Are  not  our  church  parlor  suppers  the  fashion  of  the  day  ? 
Well,  to  get  back  to  my  theme,  —  we  must  provide  something 
good  to  eat  for  our  visitors,  and  it's  our  old  home  dinners  we 
must  have. 

We  will  suppose  our  week  begins  on  Monday.  This  day 
we  will  have  corned  beef,  pork  and  cabbage,  and  potatoes. 
This  shall  be  our  first  dinner,  from  its  having  the  old  house 
and  old-time  flavor. 

"  You  may  break,  you  may  shatter  the  vase  if  you  will, 
But  the  scent  of  the  roses  will  hang  round  it  still." 


Miscellaneous  Events.  215 

Thus  it  is  with  cabbage.  For  dessert  we  will  have  a  pan- 
dowdy. We  shall  have  to  get  an  old  cook  to  make  this  dish. 
Each  day  our  dinner  must  be  of  the  old-home  flavor.  We 
must  be  sure  to  get  our  beans  in  soak  on  Friday  night,  so  that 
we  can  bake  them  on  Saturday  for  Sunday  dinner,  for  on  Sun- 
day no  cooking  will  be  allowed  in  the  old  home. 

Singing  "ye  old-time  songs,"  and  dancing  the  country  dance, 
and  telling  tales  of  the  past,  will  fill  up  the  week,  though  I 
fear  the  old  folks  will  find  it  an  awful  dry  time. 

Now  our  appropriation  has  not  been  expended  —  the  fifty 
dollars.  It  is  supposed  the  dinners  at  twenty-five  cents  a  plate 
will  be  reasonable  :  that,  all  will  pay,  aside  from  our  "  town 
fathers," — they  never  pay,  being  invited  guests.  The  twenty- 
five  cents  will  pay  the  cost  of  getting  up  the  dinners. 

Now,  we  still  have  the  money ;  what  will  we  do  with  it  ? 
I  remember  years  ago  the  town  woke  up  to  the  need  of  a  fire 
department,  and  bought  a  lot  of  old  engines.  A  great  pro- 
cession was  formed,  led  off  by  our  Selectmen  in  carriages ; 
then  came  the  steamers  with  the  same  performance ;  and  on 
Decoration  day  the  same.  Nothing  can  be  well  done  without 
these  "  town  fathers  "  having  their  free  ride,  of  course.  To 
think  of  my  coming  near  forgetting  them !  Well,  now  we 
will  see  what  we  can  do.  Say  we  have  the  fathers  meet  in 
Washington  Square  on  Wednesday  of  the  week,  give  them  a 
dinner  of  clam  chowder  and  fixings,  and  have  carriages  to  take 
them  to  North  Weymouth  on  Thursday  and  get  their  dinner, 
and  do  the  same  at  East  and  South  Weymouth. 

Now  there  is  nothing  mean  or  small  in  this  arrangement  — 
all  the  riding  and  eating  for  nothing.  If  carried  out,  this  will 
use  up  all  the  money  allotted  to  this  village.  It  would  be  well 
to  have  the  visiting  "town  fathers,"  on  arriving  in  the  village, 
greeted  with  a  welcome,  opened  by  our  Selectmen,  aided  by 
our  member  of  the  School  Board.  Now  as  this  is  arranged, 
Monday  and  Tuesday  wiU  be  preparatory  to  Wednesday,  when 


2l6  Reminiscences. 

there  will  begin  a  merry-go-round,  or,  in  fact,  a  continual  per- 
formance until  Saturday  evening.  On  Sunday  morning  we 
will  eat  our  baked  beans,  and  go  to  church  to  hear  the  parson 
tell  of  the  beauties  of  "  Old  Home  Week." 

No  one  can  tell  until  he  has  tried  it,  how  many  ways  two 
hundred  dollars  can  be  used  in  making  a  good  "  Old  Home 
Week."  Since  we  have  the  old  Tavern,  it  is  too  good  a  thing 
to  disturb.  Having  this,  we  will  tell  another  way  to  celebrate 
Wednesday  and  the  days  following.  It  now  occurs  to  me  that 
we  should  appropriate  this  money  to  repair  and  fit  the  Town 
Hall  for  future  use.  If  this  is  done  at  once,  we  have  a  place 
for  our  gatherings  in  this  "  Old  Home  Week."  In  this  new 
program  I  propose  that  the  town  fathers  pay  as  they  go.  As 
this  is  our  first  attempt  in  old-home  work  it  is  only  fair  that 
they  should  forego  the  free  rides  and  dinners  usually  given  on 
public  days.  This  will  release  that  two  hundred  dollars  that 
the  town  has  so  generously  appropriated.  Now  if  the  Town 
Hall  is  put  in  condition,  we  will  be  all  right  to  carry  out  our 
program.  A  friend  has  mentioned  that  it  was  thought  a  good 
way  to  have  meetings  called  in  the  different  villages  to  awaken 
the  proper  enthusiasm. 

I  have  a  better  way,  and  this  it  is.  On  Wednesday  we  will 
have  a  gathering  of  the  firemen  at  Weymouth  Centre.  As  this 
is  a  rather  sleepy  place,  I  will  warrant  the  people  will  get  waked 
up  to  the  proper  enthusiasm.  Here  they  will  have  a  "play- 
off," and  for  the  prizes  each  company  must  "  chip  in."  Fifty 
dollars  can  be  given  for  a  brass  band  out  of  the  money  appro- 
priated, and  fifty  for  a  collation  to  be  served  at  the  end  of  the 
route.  Thus  I  have  used  one-half  of  the  money;  but  these  fire- 
men are  to  march  through  each  village,  which,  as  a  "  starter," 
will  wake  up  the  enthusiasm  of  the  whole  town.  In  the  even- 
ing following,  a  Firemen's  Ball  will  be  held  at  the  Town  Hall. 
This  will  be  a  small  affair  unless  our  friend  from  Hingham  is 
there  to  head  the  grand  march.      In   this  case  it   must   be 


Miscellaneous  Events.  217 

plainly  understood  that  "  those  who  dance  must  pay  the  fid- 
dlers," for  there  is  no  more  money  except  what  is  wanted  for 
coming  events,  which  we  will  now  relate. 

Now  Weymouth,  if  rich  in  nothing  else,  is  rich  in  its  many 
social  organizations,  and  a  day  must  be  set  apart  for  them, 
say  Thursday.  I  am  all  the  time  running  against  this  lack  of 
money,  for  though  the  sum  appropriated  was  a  large  amount 
for  Weymouth,  it  is  now  with  the  greatest  economy  half  ex- 
pended ;  but  we  will  get  on  and  not  borrow  trouble.  I  would 
have  all  the  secret  organizations  get  together  wherever  they 
may  choose,  —  Masons,  Blue  Lodges,  Templars,  Odd  Fellows, 
Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  Knights  of  Pythias,  and  others 
there  may  be  that  I  know  nothing  about,  A  fine  show  it 
will  be  to  see  so  many  good  men  in  uniform.  They  want  to 
bear  in  mind" that  they  will  be  called  on  to  parade.  Supposing 
the  Ancient  and  Honourable  Artillery  Company  of  London 
should  pay  a  visit  to  our  town.  Why  not  ?  Washington  was 
of  more  consequence  than  the  whole  lot,  and  tradition  says  he 
was  entertained  here  one  hundred  and  twenty-odd  years  ago. 

These  Orders  will  be  expected  to  cover  the  whole  town,  so 
that  there  may  be  no  ill-feeling  from  a  part  neglected.  I  have 
put  aside  no  money  for  this  parade,  knowing  well  that  the 
pleasure  of  wearing  a  uniform  is  ample  compensation  to  the 
majority  of  men.  The  special  arrangements  of  this  day  may 
be  left  to  the  different  organizations. 

As  I  have  arranged,  Friday  will  be  the  day  of  oratory. 
Now,  notwithstanding  we  have  had  a  High  school  in  town  for 
fifty  years,  we  are  strangely  short  of  men  who  can  stand  on 
their  feet  and  talk  in  public.  It  was  my  good  luck  several 
years  ago  to  attend  a  town  meeting  where  three  young  men 
made  things  quite  lively,  assisted  by  the  fourth.  I  have 
thought  these  young  men,  properly  developed,  would  do  very 
well  on  the  platform.  They  have  the  confidence  and  forget- 
fulness  of  self  so  necessary  in  a  public   speaker.     With  the 


2l8  Reminiscences. 

assistance  of  these  young  men,  our  town  will  have  little  need 
of  calling  on  outside  parties. 

The  last  day,  Saturday,  will  be  given  up  to  the  boys  and 
girls  of  our  town  schools.  For  this  day  I  leave  the  program, 
with  the  remainder  of  the  appropriation,  in  the  hands  of  the 
clergymen,  assisted  by  the  women  of  the  "  Monday  "  and  other 
clubs. 

"  Old-Home  Week,"  as  told  me  by  those  who  attended  the 
various  observances,  and  read  in  our  local  papers :  the  evi- 
dence being  all  in,  the  writer  will  try  and  sum  it  up  in  as 
serious  and  sober  way  as  possible. 

The  first  observance,  Sunday.  —  The  Old  North  Church, 
from  the  fact  of  its  being  the  first  Church,  was  filled  with 
many  associations,  for  it  was  the  Church  where  all  our  people 
worshiped  until  1811,  when  the  Union  Church  was  organized. 
This  meeting  was  a  success,  and  I  will  say  nothing  further, 
only  this :  there  was  no  church  in  Weymouth  in  1623,  the 
date  given  by  some  of  the  speakers.  On  the  evening  follow- 
ing. Rev.  Mr.  Cressey  held  a  large  meeting  in  his  church, —  a 
success  in  every  way  aside  from  the  few  little  mistakes  to  be 
expected  when  young  people  talk  of  old  times.  There  was 
music,  vocal  and  instrumental,  and  many  papers  read,  telling 
of  the  olden  times. 

On  Monday,  East  Weymouth  celebrated  ;  they  chose  the 
two  best  things  to  interest  the  folks  —  a  good  Military  Band 
and  a  Fireman's  Muster  (I  think  the  committee  must  have 
taken  a  hint  from  my  "  Old-Home  Week  "),  with  games  and 
all.  The  Band  concert  in  the  evening  (only  lacking  a  band- 
stand) was  a  great  time.  My  regret  is  that  I  was  not  there ; 
for  it  is  a  satisfaction  to  meet  Mr.  Cushing,  the  old  fireman, 
and  I  would  like  to  have  met  my  old  friends  Easton,  Baker, 
Lewis  and  Lincoln,  all  live  men.  East  Weymouth  did  itself 
credit ;  no  one  was  talked  to  death. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  219 

On  Tuesday  the  occasion  came  to  North  Weymouth,  and  no 
doubt  they  had  a  good  time,  as  it  was  of  their  own  choosing. 
It  was  here  in  the  grove  at  Ferry  Point,  so  called  years  ago, 
that  the  tiresome  orations  began  that  afflicted  the  town  in  this 
town  celebration.  However,  no  one  died  from  the  effects. 
This  pic-nic,  as  it  was  unfortunately  called,  was  no  doubt 
located  at  the  Point  from  its  proximity  to  the  great  shipbuild- 
ing plant,  whose  management  had  kindly  opened  its  gates 
for  the  Old-Home  Week,  and  many  availed  themselves  of 
the  privilege,  the  company  furnishing  guides.  There  were 
games  and  music  for  the  young,  while  the  old  told  tales  of 
the  past.  P'rom  what  the  witness  told  me,  the  occasion  was  a 
success. 

Now  comes  the  ;^200  day  —  the  town  celebrating  under  the 
auspices  of  our  Historical  Society,  This  society  I  had  thought 
in  "innocuous  desuetude,"  so  long  since  we  had  heard  of  its 
doings,  but  it  got  in  its  work  with  a  vengeance  in  the  three 
days  following;  everything  being  dominated  by  this  society, 
Wednesday,  Thursday,  Friday. 

The  official  observance  of  Old-Home  Week  happened  on 
Wednesday  afternoon,  on  the  broad  plateau  in  front  of  the 
High  school  building.  I  will  tell  of  what  two  old  men  who 
went  to  this  affair,  that  cost  the  town  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
dollars,  told  me,  and  the  folks  can  see  how  it  was  expended 
(their  money). 

"Mr.  Hunt,"  one  of  these  old  men  said  to  me,  "you  can't 
write  anything  bad  enough  about  this  affair."  He  told  me  of 
sitting  down  on  a  seat  he  found,  and  of  his  being  obliged  to 
give  it  up  to  the  school  children  who  were  to  sing ;  how  he 
stood  around  on  the  hard  gravel,  until  footsore  and  weary,  he 
wended  his  way  home  and  told  me  his  tale  of  how  an  old  man 
over  eighty  years  of  age  was  treated  by  those  who  had  the 
Old-Home  Week  in  charge.  In  the  meantime  the  school 
building  was  open  to  a  few  privileged  ones,  who  sat  at  ease 


220  Reminiscences. 

and  enjoyed  themselves,  while  the  old  man  was  standing 
outside. 

I  was  told  that,  aside  from  Booker  Washington,  the  whole 
talk  was  dry  and  uninteresting,  having  little  reference  to  the 
day.  Dr.  Washington  said  that  it  was  embarrassing  for  him,  a 
stranger,  to  talk  to  the  folks  on  this  occasion,  so  little  did  he 
know  of  our  town.  It  was  the  same  with  Congressman  Powers, 
though  he  was  not  at  all  embarrassed.  The  two  hundred  dollars 
is  now  spent  and  accounted  for.     Now  we  pay  as  we  go. 

Now  comes  Old-Home  Week  in  the  Landing.  As  the  folks 
had  expected  little,  no  one  was  disappointed.  Now  the  old 
place  years  ago  was  called  much  in  advance  of  the  other  parts 
of  the  town,  for  here  we  had  all  the  "  isms  "  of  the  day,  aboli- 
tionists, total  abstainers,  non-resistants,  come-outers,  —  in  fact 
we  entertained  all  the  cranks  there  were  at  the  time,  all  the 
able  men  of  the  time,  Garrison,  Phillips,  Parker,  and  others  of 
the  like ;  the  Hunts,  Westons,  Richardses,  Cowings,  all  so  in- 
terested in  the  event  of  the  day.  How  different  to-day.  On 
the  Thursday  afternoon  given  us  for  time  in  the  Old-Home 
Week,  were  gathered,  I  may  say,  a  convention  of  clergymen, 
sojourners  at  some  time  in  Weymouth,  some  of  them ;  some 
never.  They  told  what  little  they  knew  about  our  village, — 
tiresome  talk  to  those  who  had  always  lived  here  in  the  Land- 
ing ;  and  so  the  afternoon  passed  away. 

The  Historical  Society,  forgetting  the  young  girls  and  boys, 
nothing  provided  for  their  entertainment,  made  the  afternoon 
a  dull  time  indeed, —  so  different,  so  different  from  that  old 
time  in  the  same  grove  sixty-three  years  ago.  A  banquet,  so 
my  paper  stated  (a  banquet,  by  the  way,  in  the  Landing,  is 
anything  from  Washington  pie  to  ice-cream),  was  given  to  the 
visiting  guests  in  Lincoln  Hall.  This  affair,  as  one  who  was 
there  told  me,  was  to  him  as  a  family  party  of  the  Historical 
Society.  Well,  there  is  an  end  to  everything,  agreeable  or 
disagreeable. 


Miscellaneotis  Events.  221 

In  the  evening,  at  the  Grove,  was  a  Band  concert,  and  fire- 
works given  by  the  writer ;  I  mention  this,  as  no  one  else  has. 
As  I  sat  on  my  friend  Cressey's  piazza  and  saw  the  first  rocket 
ascend,  I  thought  to  myself  that  the  rocket  created  more 
enthusiasm  than  all  the  oratory  of  the  afternoon.  As  it  was, 
a  great  crowd  witnessed  and  enjoyed  the  fireworks  and  Band 
concert,  ending  the  day  pleasantly.     All  is  well  that  ends  well. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Historical  Society,  Friday  even- 
ing was  to  be  the  happiest  time  of  all,  and  so  the  writer 
thought  as  he  saw  the  pretty  girls  in  their  best  attire  going  to 
East  Weymouth  for  the  evening  (but  things  are  not  always 
what  they  seem).  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  entertain  a 
young  man  from  Boston,  one  of  the  orchestra,  at  my  home 
that  night.  Surprised  at  the  boys'  early  return,  I  asked  them 
why.  As  we  sat  in  my  dining-room,  Mr.  Thomas  told  me 
with  much  fun  the  strange  things  that  happened,  saying: 
"  We  got  our  music  out,  tuned  our  instruments,  began  our  first 
piece,  got  about  half  through  —  were  interrupted  by  some  one 
telling  us  to  cut  it  short,  as  there  were  many  waiting  to  talk." 
This  ended  the  performance  of  the  orchestra. 

As  Mr.  Thomas  said,  "  To  think  of  it !  they  got  us  to  play 
for  the  evening,  and  then  wanted  only  half  a  tune  1  Then 
again,"  he  said,  "one  person  singing  sweetly  of  'Love's  young 
dream  '  was  quietly  admonished  to  cut  it  short,  as  there  so 
many  who  wanted  to  talk  1 "  Now  this  was  no  fiction,  as  you 
will  see  in  the  sequel,  for  a  pedagogue  can  talk  if  nothing  else ; 
this  was  demonstrated  on  this  occasion.  As  my  friend  Thomas 
told,  no  one  seemed  interested,  only  those  immediately  con- 
cerned, and  the  audience  got  fearfully  tired,  many  asleep,  some 
nodding,  and  they  were  "all  nodding,  nid,  nid,  nodding,  they 
were  all  nodding,  and  going  off  to  sleep." 

Now  where  were  all  those  pretty  girls  who  expected  a  good 
time  as  in  former  years  "i  The  Historical  Society  seems  to 
have  entirely  forgotten  that  there  were  others  than  the  peda- 


222  Reminiscences. 

gogues,  and  neglected  the  young  folks  whose  time  it  was  sup- 
posed to  be. 

In  the  morning,  meeting  my  friend  Hunt,  a  member  of  the 
High  School  Association,  he  told  me  that  the  last  speaker, 
Bradford  Hawes,  as  he  was  talking  interestingly,  was  required 
to  stop  awhile  that  some  one  might  tell  there  was  a  shortage  in 
cash  and  a  contribution  would  be  taken ;  while  this  was  being 
done  Mr.  Hawes  ended  his  address :  thus  ended  the  reunion. 
My  friend  Hunt  said  in  his  dry  way,  that  it  was  the  worst  time 
he  had  known,  and  he  a  member  for  forty-five  years. 

Saturday  was  the  day  allotted  to  South  Weymouth.  From 
their  having  nothing  to  do  with  the  Historical  Society,  they 
were  without  handicap,  and  a  good  time  I  was  told  it  was, — 
a  success  from  beginning  to  end ;  an  occasion  fitting  their 
beautiful  village,  so  fortunate  in  having  a  gentleman  open  his 
fine  grounds  for  the  games  of  the  boys,  and  the  folks  of  the 
village ;  so  interested  in  the  great  procession  of  the  trades  of 
the  place.  How  unlike  the  celebration  in  our  own  Weymouth 
Landing,  where  all  was  sober,  sad  and  weary — I  pray  never 
to  occur  again. 


Weymouth,  August  12,  1903. 

Mr.  Editor :  —  If  the  article  on  Old  Home  Week  (as  observed 
here)  in  the  People's  Column  of  last  week's  Gazette  was  read  only 
by  Weymouth  people,  who  know  the  writer,  I  should  not  intrude 
upon  your  columns  at  this  time ;  but  as  it  is  read  from  Maine  to 
California  and  Florida,  it  is  right  that  a  communication  so  mislead- 
ing should  be  corrected,  that  our  non-resident  friends  should  know 
the  truth.  It  is  certainly  in  bad  taste  and  poor  judgment  to  write 
on  a  subject  of  which  one  is  profoundly  ignorant.  As  I  understand 
Mr.  Hunt,  he  did  not  attend  the  celebrations ;  it  is  evident  he  did 
not  the  one  in  his  own  village,  and  I  should  judge  from  his  report 
that  his  informant  was  deficient  in  average  intelligence,  as  there  is 
but  one  verdict  of  the  intelligent  multitude  present,  that  it  was  an 


Miscellaneous  Events.  223 

immense  success,  socially,  intellectually  and  musically.  Our  young 
Weymouth  Band  did  itself  much  credit ;  the  speeches  were  brief 
and  happy,  some  of  the  speakers  coming  hundreds  of  miles  to  meet 
and  greet  old  friends  in  that  lovely  grove,  Weston's  Park,  The 
collation,  furnished  free  to  all  invited  guests,  was  creditable  to  the 
caterers,  both  in  quality  and  abundance.  In  the  evening  the  Band 
discoursed  good  music. 

Mr.  Hunt  claims  to  have  given  the  fireworks.  I  learn  from  the 
committee  that  he  gave  the  colored  fire  and  a  few  of  the  fireworks, 
and  the  remainder,  twenty  dollars'  worth,  was  paid  from  the  money 
collected  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  occasion,  which  was  not 
under  the  direction  of  the  Historical  Society,  but  of  a  committee 
chosen  to  serve,  with  whom  Mr.  Hunt  declined  to  act.  Does  Mr. 
Hunt  enjoy  misrepresenting  to  its  discredit  his  native  village  ? 
Does  not  the  patriotism  of  one's  country  depend  on  that  of  the 
State,  the  town,  the  village,  and  the  individual  ?  Can  one  be  false 
to  these  and  true  to  the  nation's  highest  good  ?     I  think  not. 

One  phase  of  out  town  celebration  cannot  be  too  highly  appre- 
ciated. I  refer  to  the  exhibition,  at  the  Tufts  Library,  of  the  works 
of  the  artists  of  Weymouth,  which  certainly  gave  evidence  of  much 
native  ability,  and  was  the  happy  thought  of  our  efficient  Librarian, 
its  success  being  at  the  price  of  much  labor  on  her  part  and  that 
of  her  assistants.  Truth. 

To   Truth. 

Mr.  Editor:  —  I  am  heartily  sick  of  the  Old  Home  Week,  but 
however  tired,  I  must  answer  the  anonymous  letter  in  your  last 
week's  paper :  —  a  letter  written  in  exceedingly  bad  taste,  for,  if  one 
does  not  sign  his  or  her  name,  to  whom  can  we  answer  ?  Truth  is 
neither  he  nor  she,  but  it.  But  as  the  writer  signs  himself  "Truth," 
so  we  will  call  it. 

"Truth "  says  the  people  of  Weymouth  know  Mr.  Hunt.  Pray,  why 
should  they  not,  he  being  about  town  for  the  past  seventy-six  years  ? 
He  would  be  a  small  "  fry  "  if  they  did  not.  Continuing,  "  Truth  " 
says  the  people  of  Maine,  California  and  Florida  do  not  know  him. 
I  could  almost  say  I  am  known  "  from  Greenland's  icy  mountains  to 


224  Reminiscemes . 

India's  coral  strand,"  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  Canada 
to  the  Gulf. 

"  Truth  "  says  Mr.  Hunt  is  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  subject  of 
which  he  writes.  I  will  answer  "  Truth"  that  I  wrote  as  told  me  by 
those  who  attended  the  different  observances.  I  confined  my  article 
closely  to  this  information,  and  told  the  story  as  told  me.  If  my 
informants  were  wrong,  of  that  I  cannot  tell ;  but  they  were  of  our 
best  folks,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  think  they  told  an  untruth.  I 
simply  recorded  what  they  told  me,  nothing  more,  other  than  a  few 
frills  of  humor  to  make  it  readable. 

Of  the  fireworks  I  will  say  that  from  some  misunderstanding 
some  fireworks  were  obtained  in  town  (Boston),  which  was  un- 
necessary, as  I  told  the  committee  I  would  give  what  was  wanted, — 
red  fire,  rockets  and  batteries  sufficient  for  the  occasion,  —  and 
this  I  did. 

"Truth,"  now  in  the  peroration  on  patriotism,  reminds  me  of  the 
days  long  gone,  when  I  heard  the  same  from  the  back  forms  of  the 
old  school  on  Front  street.  Again  I  am  reminded  of  the  days  of 
peril,  the  rockets'  bright  glare,  the  bursting  bomb,  the  fire  that 
colored  red,  and  the  Town  Hall  filled  with  oratory,  so  full  as  to 
flow  from  the  doors  down  the  streets  through  the  town.  However, 
he  who  went  to  the  front  was  the  true  patriot,  the  one  who  saved 
his  country  in  its  time  of  peril. 


It  is  a  very  good  plan  v^^hen  one  is  reading  his  paper,  on 
coming  across  something  interesting,  to  cut  it  out  and  save  it. 
Always  being  interested  in  the  game  of  football  (.-')  I  have 
been  saving  the  little  items  which  have  come  out  in  the  news- 
paper, and  putting  them  together  it  makes  queer  reading.  I 
say  I  am  always  interested  in  this  game,  perhaps  from  the 
danger  there  is  in  it, —  the  same  way  as  my  fireworks  business 
that  I  have  been  engaged  in  so  long;  for  an  item  that  I  read  is 
this,  that  ten  boys  have  been  killed  and  many  more  wounded  in 
football  games.  Of  the  wounded  no  account  could  be  given, 
but  there  were  as  many  killed  and  wounded  as  in  some  of  our 


Miscellaneous  Events.  225 

battles  with  Spain.  W.  James,  Jr.,  in  the  Harvard  Bulletin, 
says  :  "  Not  long  ago  a  coach  gathered  his  squad  in  the  Locker 
building  on  Soldiers'  Field,  for  his  final  harangue  before  send- 
ing it  out  on  to  the  field  against  Yale.  In  silence  he  glared 
his  men  successively  in  the  eye,  and  then  delivered  himself  in 
three  hoarse  words  :  *  Now,  fellows  —  Hell  I '  and  with  that 
ringing  in  their  ears,  his  men  went  out  and  beat  Yale  very 
badly." 

In  his  comments  Mr.  James  says  :  "If  we  have  reached  the 
pass  where  the  athlete  figures  as  the  damned  soul,  it  is  time 
to  inquire  into  the  cause,"  and  so  on.  The  above  refers  to 
Harvard,  you  know.  Another  slip  I  take  up,  —  how  different, 
so  good !  Dr.  A.  E.  Garland,  Physical  Director  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  who  played  on  the  famous  Spring- 
field Training-school  team  under  Stagg  of  Yale,  told  how  the 
team  prayed  before  going  into  a  game.  "  Sometimes,"  said 
he,  "  every  player  prayed  earnestly  before  going  on  the  field. 
This  takes  away  the  fluttering  of  the  heart  and  the  sickness 
at  the  pit  of  the  stomach.  Amherst  came  down  to  show  the 
Christian  kids  a  trick,  but  the  score  was  20  to  o  in  our  favor. 
We  had  a  secret.  We  depended  on  a  Power  higher  than  our 
own."  Now,  putting  these  clippings  together,  puts  me  in 
mind  of  a  story  a  long  time  ago,  in  the  old  "  Amazon  "  days, 
nigh  sixty  years  ago. 

The  "Amazon  "  company  comprised  the  best  of  our  village. 
True,  there  were  a  few  that  sometimes  could  not  keep  up  on 
the  march,  but  they  only  emphasized  the  goodness  of  those 
who  could.  Among  the  "Amazon's  "  company  I  remember  my 
old  Sunday  school  teacher,  lawyer  White,  and  from  his  being 
my  Sunday  school  teacher,  I  always  associated  him  with  the 
song  we  used  to  sing  in  the  Sunday  school :  — 

"  Where  do  children  love  to  go, 
When  the  wintry  wind  doth  blow  ? 
It  is  the  Sabbath  School,  it  is  the  Sabbath  School." 


226  Reminiscences. 

I  have  no  doubt  there  were  others,  the  like  of  lawyer  White^ 
just  as  good.  Now  the  whole  was  just  as  good  as  a  part.  As 
I  write  this  of  so  many  years  ago 

"  I  feel  like  one  who  treads  alone 
Some  banquet  hall  deserted, 
Whose  lights  are  fled,  whose  garlands  dead, 
And  all  but  he  departed." 

From  the  "Amazon  "  being  a  Thayer  tub,  and  all  the  others 
of  the  Hunneman  class,  the  "  Amazon  "  was  continually  chal- 
lenged. Now  the  "Tigers  "  of  Quincy,  as  their  name  implied, 
were  a  terror  to  our  good  people  of  the  "Amazon  ;"  for  when 
Ensign  Fellows,  foreman  of  the  "  Tigers,"  got  upon  his  engine, 
there  was  lively  work.  How  well  I  can  see  him  with  one  hand 
on  the  brake,  the  other  spread  out  as  though  giving  his  men  a 
benediction,  talking  so  softly  and  quietly  until  the  hose  was 
full  ;  then  a  moment's  rest  until  the  gun-fire,  —  so  gentle  and 
quiet  as  a  summer  day.  The  gun  is  fired  ;  what  a  change  ! 
from  the  gentle  lamb  he  was  now  changed  to  a  tiger.  Web- 
ster and  Worcester  were  exhausted,  and  he  drew  on  himself. 
He  begged,  he  damned,  he  pleaded ;  he  called  his  men  all  the 
good  things  as  well  as  all  the  bad  ;  he  sent  them  to  hell  and 
then  to  heaven.  What  was  the  result?  —  always  the  same. 
The  "Amazons"  were  eaten  up  by  the  "Tigers,"  and  went 
home  to  tell  why  and  how  they  had  been  beaten. 

Now  in  summing  up  the  above,  the  coach  who  said,  "  Now 
fellows  —  Hell ! "  was  just  the  one  to  have  for  a  coach  in  a 
football  game,  a  man  after  my  own  heart.  What  Dr.  A.  E. 
Garland  says  is  what  so  much  discredits  the  religion  of  to-day 
with  the  people  who  think.  To  think  of  men  having  a  flutter- 
ing of  the  heart  and  a  sickness  at  the  pit  of  the  stomach,  when 
going  into  a  football  game !  So  ridiculous  !  Suffering  from  in- 
digestion, no  doubt.  Prayers  will  avail  little  when  the  stomach 
is  out  of  order.     In  a  case  of  this  kind,  where  I  were  not  sure 


Miscellaneous  Events.  227 

it  was  a  case  of  cowardice,  I  would  prescribe  a  light  diet  of  old 
whiskey.  All  that  Garland  says  is  simply  too  foolish  to  be 
noticed  further. 

All  that  I  read  of  the  past  shows  plainly  that  Weymouth 
Landing,  from  the  time  of  the  first  settlers,  was  the  business 
part  of  the  town,  having  all  the  natural  advantages  that  East 
Weymouth  did  not  possess.  The  first  settlers  came  up  the 
Fore  river  to  Phillips  creek,  landing  at  Burying  Island;  of 
these,  some  stopped  in  North  Weymouth,  built  their  church 
on  Burying  hill,  and  there  buried  their  dead.  In  an  account 
book  kept  from  1680  to  1690,  there  are  accounts  with  Col. 
Ephraim  Hunt,  Zachariah  Bicknell  and  others  :  the  commod- 
ities exchanged  were  corn,  barley,  malt,  wool,  lumber  and 
shingles. 

As  the  head  waters  of  a  river  afforded  the  most  desirable 
places  for  settlement,  so  it  was  with  the  Fore  river,  the  shore 
that  these  people  landed  on.  They  naturally  followed  the 
stream  to  its  head,  one  branching  to  the  Smelt  brook,  the  other 
to  what  is  called  the  Iron  Works  in  East  Braintree,  and  the 
interests  of  the  two  towns  united  at  this  point. 

One  of  the  first  industries  established  in  the  Colonies  was 
the  manufacture  of  iron  in  1644.  This  business  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  Vinton  family  in  1720,  and  was  continued  by 
them  until  the  destruction  of  the  dam  in  1736,  by  order  of  the 
town,  that  herring  might  pass.  This  seems  a  Braintree  affair, 
but  our  Weymouth  folks  were  much  interested. 

Of  the  noted  men  of  business  in  early  times  was  Captain 
Samuel  White,  who  was  a  merchant  on  the  Fore  river,  on  the 
spot  where  Cotton  Tufts  lived,  in  1801.  He  was  eminent  for 
his  enterprise,  energy  and  wealth.  He  supplied  many  war- 
like stores  for  the  Colony,  and  represented  the  town  in  the 
General  Court  in  1679  ^^^  1680.  His  interests  were  both  in 
Weymouth  and  in  Braintree.  In  his  will,  among  other  things, 
he  left  four  negro  slaves. 


228  Reminiscences. 

At  that  time  Col.  Ephraim  Hunt  (1650-1713)  was  a  busy- 
man,  serving  in  Phipps's  expedition  in  1690,  in  the  Groton 
expedition  in  1706,  and  as  Governor's  Assistant  from  1703  to 

1713. 

In  1749  Mr.  John  Hunt  and  Mr.  Hayward  contracted  to 
furnish  stone  to  build  King's  Chapel,  Boston,  and  there  was 
much  doubt  if  stone  enough  could  be  found  in  Braintree  to 
build  the  same.  This  stone  was  no  doubt  freighted  down  the 
Monatiquot  to  Boston. 

About  1750  my  great-grandfather,  Edmund  Soper,  came 
from  Bridgewater  and  settled  in  the  Ironworks  district  in  East 
Braintree.  He  was  a  wealthy  man,  and  did  a  large  business, 
his  store  being  located  in  Mill  Lane.  He  built  vessels  on  the 
Monatiquot,  and  also  the  fine  mansion  occupied  by  Mrs.  Albert 
Stetson,  who  is  a  direct  descendant. 

Mr.  Samuel  Arnold,  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  ablest  of 
business  men,  was  a  shipbuilder  in  company  with  John  Cook, 
and  a  man  of  much  note  in  his  time.  He  died  in  1803.  His 
son  Samuel  built  the  house  in  Washington  Square  now  occupied 
by  the  Cowing  family,  and  also  the  old  hotel. 

I  will  now  tell  what  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  Webb  told  me  a 
few  years  before  he  died,  about  the  trouble  the  east  part  of 
the  town  had  in  getting  to  Fore  river  village  in  the  early  days. 
Mr.  Webb  said  to  me,  "Those  folks  took  the  old  road  over 
King  Oak  hill  by  the  dwellings  of  Henry  Nash  and  James 
Jones,  to  what  we  now  call  Joseph  Loud's  hill.  Half  down 
this  hill  on  the  left,  the  road  turned  and  extended  through  the 
pastures,  through  the  land  I  now  own  called  the  "old  Hassel 
lot,"  through  to  the  Holbrook  farm,  now  Torrey's,  through 
Torrey's  lane  to  the  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt  house  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Front  and  Stetson  streets."  Mr.  Webb  told  me  that 
this  was  the  only  way  that  the  people  of  the  east  part  of  the 
town  could  get  to  the  Landing  or  to  Boston  other  than  across 
Ferry  Point,  where  there  was  no  bridge  in  those  days. 


Miscellatieous  Events.  229 

As  for  ship-building  on  Back  river,  if  a  scow  is  a  ship,  why, 
ships  have  been  built  there.  In  "ye  olden  times"  I  have 
heard  that  there  was  a  sloop,  carrying  iron,  sunk  off  Grape 
Island.  Until  the  Bradley  works  came  to  North  Weymouth, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  there  was  little  shipping  on  Back  river. 
Once  our  people  heard  of  the  race  between  the  Hingham 
packet  and  the  Weymouth  packet,  but  never,  no,  never,  was  a 
Back  river  packet  in  the  race. 

A  few  days  ago  I  went  to  the  Town  Clerk's  office  to  look 
over  the  old  records.  For  many  pages  I  found  nothing  other 
than  the  division  of  the  land  among  the  few  inhabitants  then 
in  North  Weymouth.  Their  lots  mostly  bordered  on  the 
seashore  on  the  north  and  west ;  Burying  Island,  Phillips 
creek,  Mill  cove  where  the  old  Robbins  grist  mill  stood 
years  ago,  were  the  places  often  mentioned  in  the  early 
records. 

In  the  olden  times,  folks  built  their  church  and  located  the 
burying  ground  close  about.  It  was  thus  with  our  folks. 
Their  church  on  Burying  hill,  standing  where  the  street  now 
goes,  was  where  all  the  people  of  the  North  Precinct  wor- 
shiped till  1 8 10  for  those  in  the  Landing,  and  1822  for  those 
in  East  Weymouth, 

North  Weymouth  has  been  called  the  "garden"  of  Wey- 
mouth, and  it  seems  to  have  been  an  ideal  place  for  those  first 
settlers.  North  of  King  Oak  hill  and  bordering  on  the  Fore 
river,  carpenters,  cordwainers,  blacksmiths  and  husbandmen, 
all  had  to  till  the  ground,  grow  Indian  corn  and  potatoes  for 
their  food,  and  live  off  both  the  fruits  of  the  land  and  the 
sea.  The  settlers  that  landed  at  Burying  Island  and  at  Phillips 
creek  were  in  the  same  condition  as  those  at  Plymouth,  about 
whom  all  have  read  so  much.  Located  around  Burying  hill 
were  the  Lovells,  the  Bicknells,  the  Humphreys,  the  Torreys, 
the  Hunts,  the  Richardses,  the  Pratts,  the  Holbrooks  and 
others.     For  many  years  all  were  farmers. 


230  Reminiscences. 

The  river  and  bay  close  by  were  filled  with  fish ;  there  was 
no  law  against  smelts  or  short  lobsters  then  ;  clams  could  be 
had  for  the  digging ;  the  river  was  always  ready  when  the 
doors  were  open  at  low  tide.  Not  till  one  hundred  years  after 
their  landing  did  the  folks  have  tea  and  coffee,  nor  white  pota- 
toes. Root  beer  was  used  on  the  table  instead  of  tea  and  cof- 
fee ;  after  the  apple  trees  began  to  bear  fruit,  cider  became  the 
common  drink.  Beef  and  mutton  were  seldom  seen  on  the 
table. 

The  colonial  house  of  that  time  was  built  of  squared  logs 
and  slabs,  and  split  logs  covered  with  meadow  grass.  For 
years  wooden  and  pewter  ware  were  used,  as  no  earthen  or 
china  wares  were  known.  Table  forks  were  unknown  other 
than  a  large  one  to  take  the  meat  from  the  kettle.  Probably 
not  one  of  the  first  settlers  ever  saw  a  fork  used  at  the  table. 
At  funerals  there  was  no  service  for  nearly  one  hundred  years. 
At  the  burial  the  bell  was  tolled,  the  neighbors  gathered 
around  with  the  pastor,  and  conducted  the  body  to  the  grave, 
standing  till  the  earth  was  filled  in.  Many  of  our  ancestors 
believed  in  witchcraft.  Civil  marriages  were  the  custom ;  the 
first  marriage  celebrated  with  Prayer-book  and  ring  occurred 
in  Boston  in  1686. 

Now  I  wonder  what  pleasure  the  old  Puritans  and  Pilgrims 
had,  who  were  located  here  between  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
and  the  Plymouth  Colonies  ?  It  is  hard  to  tell.  Thanksgiving 
day  had  just  come,  but  not  the  turkey.  Taking  his  old  flint- 
lock and  getting  up  early,  a  wild  goose  was  easily  taken  by  the 
Weymouth  settlers,  as  the  river  and  seashore  were  full  of  wild 
fowl.  Then  the  old  folks  had  the  pleasure  of  going  to  church 
and  damning  those  who  stayed  away.  Then,  again,  there  must 
have  been  a  pleasure  in  building  stone  walls  ;  else  how  could 
the  settlers  have  done  so  much  of  it  ?  In  travelling  over  the 
pastures  you  say,  "  Stone  walls,  stone  walls,  how  could  our 
people    have   done   it  ?  "     They  killed   two    birds  with    many 


Miscellaneous  Events.  23 1 

stones,  —  clearing  their  land  and  marking  the  boundaries. 
The  pleasure  of  card-playing  was  denied  those  ancient  sires, 
a  fine  of  fifty  shillings  being  the  penalty. 

Mr.  Gilbert  Nash,  in  his  Historical  Sketch  of  the  Town  of 
Weymouth,  says  that  Weymouth  for  two  hundred  years  was  a 
farming  town.  No  doubt  this  was  the  principal  occupation. 
As  there  is  little  good  farming-land  south  of  King  Oak  hill, 
and  as  land  is  so  fertile  by  the  banks  of  the  Fore  river,  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  the  North  Weymouth  settlers,  as  their 
families  enlarged,  turned  their  steps  up  this  river,  occupying 
the  lands  on  each  side  to  the  head  of  the  stream.  It  was 
nearly  one  hundred  years  after  the  first  (1622)  settlement  that 
a  division  line  was  laid  out  between  Weymouth  and  Braintree. 
The  village  of  the  Fore  river  and  the  Iron  Works  village 
seemed  identical.  The  Hunts,  the  Whites,  and  the  Holbrooks, 
and  other  Weymouth  names,  were  as  common  in  the  Iron 
Works  district  as  in  the  Landing  village. 

I  have  said  nothing  about  the  nineteenth  century,  only  that 
the  elder  Samuel  Arnold  died  one  hundred  years  ago.  I  have 
all  the  papers  regarding  the  settlement  of  his  estate  by  Gideon 
Thayer  of  Braintree ;  Mr.  Arnold  did  all  his  work,  building 
vessels  and  keeping  hotel,  in  the  eighteenth  century. 

Of  the  eighteenth  century  ship-building  I  will  say  that  Major 
Edmund  Soper  built  vessels  on  the  Monatiquot  one  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago.     He  died  in  1776. 

Col.  Ephraim  Hunt,  according  to  his  account  book,  built 
several  vessels  at  the  mouth  of  the  Smelt  brook  between 
1690  and  1700,  among  them  one  for  Captain  Lyle  in  1694. 
Thomas  Kingman,  Junior,  agreed  Dec.  15,  1694,  "to  cart  lum- 
ber from  Joseph  Green's  saw-mill  to  the  water  side  at  Smelt 
Brook  for  Col.  Hunt,"  and  Cornelius  Holbrook  agreed,  Jan.  16, 
1693/4,  *'  to  deliver  lumber  at  the  ship's  side  at  Smelt  Brook 
in  Weymouth  before  the  first  day  of  March  next,  for  Ephraim 
Hunt."     "An  account  of  the  men  w®  work*  upon  the  ship  to 


232  Reminiscences. 

get  her  up  :  viz.  John  Vinson,  Jo  :  Waters,  W™  :  Manley,  John 
Clothes,  Nich :  Phillips,  Elias  Monk,  Thomas  Coats,  at  \os.  p. 
man ;  James  Ludden,  9^-.  ;  Edward  Darby,  \os.  ;  Edmund 
Jackson,  6j.  ;  Henry  Adams,  los.  ;  Hez :  Turner,  \os. ;  George 
Thomas,  8j.  ;  Francis  Ball,  Zs. ;  Sam.  Gurney,  3^. ;  John  Hodg- 
don,  15^-.  ;  James  Smith,  9^. ;  John  Taylor,  4^. ;  Lieut.  Nash, 
ij."  Ship-building  was  an  industry  of  importance  at  the  Land- 
ing until  1848,  when  Mr.  Atherton  W.  Tilden  built  the  last. 

Many  years  ago  when  a  little  boy,  I  remember  seeing  my 
mother  getting  ready  to  go  out  on  Thursday  afternoon  to  the 
Mothers'  meeting.  This  was  a  prayer  meeting  in  the  interest 
of  the  children,  and  was  the  first  woman's  club  in  our  village. 
Then  came  the  Glee  club,  which  I  remember  with  much  pleas- 
ure, meeting  around  in  the  homes  of  the  musical  people.  Of 
that  Glee  club  I  know  of  only  one  member  who  is  alive  to-day, 
my  old  friend  Francis  H.  Tilden,  and  he  loves  to  tell  of  the 
many  pleasant  times  he  had  in  the  old  club.  After  the  Glee 
club  came  all  the  political  clubs.  Pinned  upon  my  wall  is 
a  Fremont  and  Dayton  club  badge,  a  reminder  of  1856,  In 
1870  there  was  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  located 
on  Commercial  street,  corner  of  Broad  street  and  Jackson 
square,  East  Weymouth ;  and  ten  years  after,  there  was  one  at 
North  Weymouth,  near  Bridge  street.  In  1879  there  was  the 
South  Weymouth  Reform  club. 

In  the  present  time  numberless  clubs  seem  to  have  sprung 
up  like  a  crop  of  mushrooms,  and  it  would  be  a  blessing  were 
their  lives  as  short.  I  am  told  that  many  are  in  a  fair  way  to 
emulate  Mrs.  Jellaby  in  Dickens. 

Not  long  ago  Bishop  Lawrence  was  in  our  village,  putting 
one  in  mind  of  his  grandfather,  Amos  Lawrence,  the  noted 
merchant  and  philanthropist.  In  1848  the  Whigs  put  in  nomi- 
nation Zachary  Taylor,  and  the  Vice-presidency  lay  between 
Fillmore  and  Abbott  Lawrence,  a  brother  of  Amos,  When 
asked  to  contribute  money  to  help  his  brother's  cause,  Amos 


Miscellaneous  Events.  233 

Lawrence  replied,  "  I  have  no  money  to  spare,  and  if  my  vote 
would  elect  my  brother  I  would  withhold  it."  Abbott  Law- 
rence missed  being  Vice-president  by  one  vote,  and  if  he  had 
been  chosen  would  have  been  President  of  the  United  States,  as 
was  Fillmore  because  of  the  death  of  President  Taylor,  Amos 
Lawrence  said  he  wanted  his  brother  Abbott  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  politics.  Still,  Abbott  Lawrence  was  our  Minister 
to  England  for  the  four  years  succeeding  President  Taylor's 
election. 

Fifty  years,  a  short  time  to  look  back  over,  a  long  time  to 
look  ahead  to! — then  our  High  school  began:  not  that  those 
in  town  particularly  wanted  one,  but  that  the  Commonwealth 
passed  a  law  making  it  obligatory.  During  the  first  few  years, 
the  town  appropriated  $1,000  to  carry  on  this  school ;  in  1903, 
between  ;^7,ooo  and  $8,000,  and  in  the  past  fifty  years  up- 
wards of  1^250,000.  I  do  not  make  comparisons,  for  it  is 
always  unfair  to  compare  the  son  with  the  father,  conditions 
have  so  changed.  Everything  has  so  changed  in  the  last  fifty 
years  that  one  now  lives  in  an  entirely  different  world  from 
that  in  which  his  father  lived. 

Now  to  hark  back  fifty  years ;  at  that  time  (1853)  the  writer 
being  twenty-six  years  of  age,  remembers  well  and  knew  per- 
sonally many  of  the  men  who  walked  our  streets.  Who  were 
they  }  In  Washington  Square  I  see  Mr.  Elias  Richards,  John 
W.  Loud,  Nathaniel  Blanchard,  Asa  B.  Wales,  Amos  White, 
Oilman  Thompson  and  John  O.  Foye  ;  on  Front  street.  Major 
Elias  Hunt,  Atherton  N.  Hunt,  Charles  E.  Hunt,  Richard  A. 
Hunt  and  Elbridge  G.  Hunt ;  on  Summer  street,  the  Nashes : 
—  all  active  men  in  their  prime. 

Fifty  years  ago  was  our  first  meeting  in  the  Town  Hall, 
then  just  completed.  Noah  Vining  was  chairman  of  the  Board 
of  Selectmen,  with  Atherton  N.  Hunt  and  Samuel  French, 
2d ;  Oran  White  was  our  Town  Clerk,  who  served  for  many 
years,  being  a  good  man  whom  all  liked  to  meet.    Cotton  Bates 


234  Reminiscences. 

was  our  pleasant  Collector  of  taxes.  He  was  a  character. 
Well  do  I  remember  him ;  coming  into  the  shoe  shop  and 
finding  a  seat  empty,  he  would  put  his  hand  on  it  and  say, 
"  The  nest  is  warm,  the  bird  is  not  far  away,"  and  then  quietly 
sit  down  to  wait  for  the  delinquent,  who  was  short  of  money 
to  pay  his  taxes.  For  all  his  being  a  tax  collector,  every  one 
greeted  him  pleasantly. 

The  School  Board  in  1853  was  Reverends  Joshua  Emery, 
Jr.,  Edmund  S.  Potter,  James  S.  Terry  and  William  M.  Hard- 
ing. They  may  have  been  somewhat  narrow  in  their  views, 
but  they  were  at  least  all  educated  men,  suited  for  their 
position. 

The  men  from  the  north  part  of  the  town  that  I  remem- 
ber at  town  meeting  in  the  new  Town  Hall  in  1853  were 
Elias  Beals,  the  Torreys,  the  Cleverlys,  and  not  the  least, 
the  old  Selectman,  Squire  James  Humphrey.  From  the  east 
were  the  Bicknells,  the  Canterburys,  Henry  Loud,  and  my  old 
friend  John  P.  Lovell.  From  Lovell's  corner  came  Abner 
Holbrook,  a  large  man  tor  so  small  a  corner.  I  remember  him 
as  our  Representative,  with  Daniel  Dyer,  in  the  Know-nothing 
times,  and  also  as  a  pleasant  companion  in  Orphan's  Hope 
Lodge.  From  the  south  part  came  the  Whites,  the  Torreys, 
the  Vinings  and  the  Thomases.  Of  all  that  I  have  mentioned 
only  one  man,  Mr.  Henry  Loud,  is  alive  to-day  (Nov.  2,  1906). 
Keeping  a  country  store,  he  used  to  come  into  my  brother's 
store  on  Central  street,  Boston,  and  buy  women's  gaiters  and 
slippers  of  the  writer. 

Of  the  men  who  had  charge  of  our  town  affairs  in  those 
years  few  got  other  than  a  district  school  education  except  the 
School  Committee,  the  clergymen  aforementioned. 

Gymnastics  was  a  word  unknown  when  these  men  went  to 
school.  Of  "sprinting"  they  had  enough,  chasing  the  old 
brindle  cow  home  from  pastures  far  away.  Then  what  better 
exercise  for  preparing  the  boys'  arms  for  their  future  work  as 


Miscellaneous  Events.  235 

carpenters,  blacksmiths  or  shoemakers,  than  by  cutting  and 
sawing  the  winter's  wood,  and  what  better  riding-school  than 
astride  the  old  kicking  mare,  plowing  the  field  for  corn  ?  Then 
the  rod  held  its  sway ;  whoever  disobeyed  got  a  thrashing. 
The  school -master  ruled  supreme  with  his  rod.  How  different 
to-day,  when  the  boy  is  so  coddled  ! 

It  is  my  habit,  when  I  meet  one  of  the  High  school  boys, 
to  inquire  about  the  books  he  has  under  his  arm.  He  shows 
them  to  me,  and  I  find  a  Latin  Grammar,  Livy  or  other  classic. 
I  ask  the  boy  what  he  intends  to  do  in  after-life,  and  he  tells 
me  he  does  not  know.  "  Well,"  I  say,  "  why  spend  your  time 
on  this  stuff } "  He  says  it  is  the  course  prescribed  for  the 
High  school ;  and  so  it  is,  and  the  boy  is  taught  superficially 
for  four  years.  And,  further,  the  knowledge  he  has  gained  in 
the  Grammar  school  is  mostly  obliterated,  —  his  arithmetic,  his 
grammar,  and  his  spelling,  —  the  foundations  of  a  business 
life.  And  a  business  life  is  what  every  boy  should  learn,  if  he 
wants  success. 

By  success  I  mean  the  art  of  getting  money  in  an  honorable 
way ;  for  notwithstanding  what  the  Bible  says,  without  money 
we  are  as  nothing  in  this  world.  In  continuing,  I  will  say  the 
better  the  boy  is  grounded  in  his  Grammar-school  studies,  and 
the  less  frills  he  has  from  our  High  school,  the  more  assured 
is  he  of  wealth,  the  lodestone  of  the  world.  The  young  man 
will  find,  when  he  enters  the  business  world,  that  he  will  be 
rated  in  Dunn  or  Bradstreet,  not  by  the  virtues  he  has,  but 
by  the  dollars  he  has  in  the  bank. 

The  High  school  has  undoubtedly  been  the  means  of  taking 
our  young  men  from  our  village.  The  boy  who  understands 
the  classics  from  his  four  years'  study  cannot  but  feel  superior, 
and  want  a  better  occupation  than  his  father  has.  Instead  of 
following  in  his  father's  footsteps,  he  spreads  his  wings  and 
flies  to  town,  to  get  the  benefit  of  his  great  attainments  in 
some    dry-goods    store,    ribbon    store,    banker's,    lawyer's    or 


236  Reminiscences. 

broker's  office,  as  a  clerk  to  work  behind  the  desk  or  counter, 
or  run  errands. 

Walking  the  streets  last  summer,  I  met  a  friend  who  is  a 
great  enthusiast  on  the  High  school.  He  told  me  that  he 
would  not  hire  a  boy  for  his  ribbon  store  were  he  not  a  grad- 
uate of  a  High  school.  This  I  felt  was  encouraging.  To-day 
in  our  village  the  greater  part  of  the  business  is  in  the  hands 
of  the  older  folk,  who  graduated  from  our  district  schools 
many  years  ago.  The  beautiful  Library  and  Opera  House  in 
South  Weymouth  did  not  originate  from  a  classical  education, 
but  from  pluck  and  energy,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  sort  which 
a  common  Grammar  school  gives. 

Our  village  has  much  natural  beauty  with  the  great  Weston's 
Park  in  its  center.  This  Park  is  not  half  appreciated  ;  no  town 
about  has  anything  to  compare  with  it.  Now,  surrounded  with 
a  fine  iron  fence  and  cleaned  up  of  brushwood,  it  is  a  picture  to 
admire,  and  the  Westons  should  be  thanked  in  that  they  put 
up  no  tight  board  fence  to  shut  out  the  pleasant  view.  We 
have  no  great  shoe  factories  in  our  midst,  consequently  no 
labor  troubles.  We  were  fortunate  to  have  the  great  ship- 
building plant  go  to  Quincy.  If  all  the  great  manufacturing 
plants  can  be  kept  on  the  Braintree  and  Quincy  side  of  the 
Monatiquot,  so  much  the  better  for  Weymouth,  for  the  time 
will  assuredly  come  when  Quincy  will  be  annexed  to  Boston ; 
then  Weymouth,  a  suburb  of  Greater  Boston,  will  be  a  most 
beautiful  residential  section.  "  Ever)^hing  comes  to  him  who 
waits."     We  will  hope. 

My  son  being  a  book  collector,  receives  many  catalogues 
from  the  auction  sales,  where  libraries  are  always  being  sold. 
Books  can  be  found  at  these  sales  which  can  be  obtained  no- 
where else,  —  such  as  town  histories,  genealogies,  etc.  Of 
these  we  always  buy  if  possible,  and  by  so  doing  have  quite 
a  number  of  town  histories,  such  as  the  histories  of  Plymouth, 
Duxbury,  Bridgewater,  Scituate,  Braintree.     We  lately  came 


Miscellaneous  Events.  237 

into  possession  of  the  History  of  the  Town  of  Hingham,  in 
four  large  volumes.  Having  failed  to  get  this  work  in  Hing- 
ham, my  son  obtained  it  at  an  auction  sale  in  New  York.  In 
this  History  of  Hingham  two  volumes  are  devoted  to  the  gen- 
ealogies of  the  families  of  the  town,  and  two  to  the  general 
history.  The  people  of  Hingham  are  fortunate  in  having  men 
who  could  do  this  work  so  satisfactorily. 

Now  Weymouth  has  no  written  history  excepting  Gilbert 
Nash's  Historical  Sketch  of  Weymouth,  though  the  town  is 
the  second  settlement  in  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony.  It 
is  true  we  have  it  in  scraps,  like  what  I  read  in  my  paper  last 
week :  "  A  writer  on  capital  punishment  mentioned  Weymouth 
as  the  first  place  in  Massachusetts  where  a  man  was  hanged 
for  murder."  Think  of  it !  Samuel  Butler's  "  Hudibras  "  is 
the  authority.  A  good,  able  man,  a  shoemaker,  kills  an  In- 
dian, The  Indians,  in  reprisal,  require  that  a  white  man 
should  be  hanged.  The  only  mender  of  shoes  could  not  be 
spared,  but  the  settlers  having  a  sick,  bedridden  man,  of  no 
manner  of  use  in  the  Colony,  took  him  from  his  bed  and  hanged 
him,  and  the  redskins  and  colonists  were  both  satisfied. 

The  history  of  Weymouth,  well  written,  would  be  one  of  the 
most  fascinating  of  books.  There  hangs  so  much  of  mystery 
and  uncertainty  around  the  pioneer  settlement  that  a  good 
writer  can  make  a  mighty  interesting  book  concerning  the  old 
town  in  the  far  away  days,  full  of  traditions  of  the  Weston 
Colony.  On  one  side  were  the  staid  PUgrim  Fathers,  liberal 
withal ;  while  just  across  the  Monatiquot  was  Morton's  Merry 
Mount,  an  Episcopal  company,  no  doubt  doing  as  they  had 
done  in  the  May  days  of  Old  England ;  then  towards  Boston 
and  Salem  were  the  bigoted  Puritans.  It  would  be  a  hard 
task  to  begin,  but  I  imagine  as  one  goes  on  it  would  become  a 
great  and  greater  pleasure. 

The  conclusion  of  Charles  Francis  Adams's  Address  before 
the  Weymouth    Historical    Society  in  October,    1904,  is  far 


238  Reminiscences. 

more  interesting  than  its  beginning.  What  Mr.  Adams  tells 
us  of  the  past  one  hundred  years  and  more,  is  like  thrashing 
out  old  straw  and  finding  little  grain.  Mr.  Adams's  book, 
"Three  Episodes  of  Massachusetts  History,"  telling  of  our 
colonial  life,  may  be  found  in  our  Tufts  Library.  This  book 
is  a  most  interesting  work,  which  all  should  read,  as  it  tells  of 
the  lives  of  our  grandfathers  back  to  the  first  settlement  of 
Weymouth  and  Braintree.  What  Mr.  Adams  tells  of  our  wars, 
our  "unpreparedness,"  and  the  loss  of  life  from  such  condi- 
tions, how  true  !  Do  we  not  all  know  this  .?  So  many  remem- 
ber our  Civil  War,  and  so  many  more  the  great  scare  in  our 
last  Spanish  affair,  when  some  moved  from  Boston  to  the 
country,  and  torpedoes  were  planted  in  Boston  harbor. 

Charles  Francis  Adams  is  interesting  when  talking  of  the 
past, —  the  past  of  Weymouth,  but  not  of  the  past  sixty  years. 
Sometimes  a  thing  is  taken  for  granted  from  the  one  telling  it. 
I  fear  it  is  thus  with  many  of  our  people  who  listened  to  Mr. 
Adams.  He  tells  us  that  Weymouth  was  like  other  towns, — 
say,  for  instance,  Quincy,  the  town  in  which  Mr.  Adams  was 
born, —  and  he  seems  to  judge  and  compare  Weymouth  with 
Quincy.  Now,  there  could  be  nothing  so  unlike  as  Weymouth 
and  Quincy.  In  Quincy  the  folks  were  mostly  of  those  who 
worked  in  the  quarries,  and  those  who  ran  the  stone  sloops, — 
outside  of  the  Quincys,  the  Millers  and  the  Adamses,  who 
always  held  themselves  aloof  from  their  towns-people.  In 
Weymouth  the  men  were  shoemakers,  who  in  their  workshops 
talked  over  the  events  of  the  times,  and  in  politics  were  edu- 
cated. In  the  olden  times  the  shoemaker  was  the  educated 
man  of  the  village.  In  Quincy  the  men  were  strong  but  un- 
educated. 

Following,  Mr.  Adams  tells  of  the  gross  intemperance  within 
his  remembrance.  Mr.  Adams  knows  of  the  intemperance 
there  was  in  Quincy.  The  writer,  some  ten  or  fifteen  years 
older  than  Mr.  Adams,  remembers  little  of  intemperance  in 


Miscellaneous  Events.  239 

our  Weymouth  village  in  his  boyhood,  —  nothing  as  compared 
with  that  of  Quincy,  where  Mr.  Adams  tells  of  the  number  of 
drunken  men  who  sat  about  the  postoffice  there.  It  may  have 
been  true  of  Quincy,  but  it  is  not  true  of  Weymouth.  I 
remember  when  Mr.  Wales,  the  hotel-keeper,  on  being  ap- 
pointed postmaster,  had  to  erect  a  building  for  the  postoffice, 
as  our  folks  objected  to  having  the  postoffice  in  the  hotel. 
No ;  Quincy,  by  which  Mr.  Adams  seems  to  judge  all  of  our 
towns,  was  very  unlike  our  clean  New  England  village  of  Wey- 
mouth Landing. 

As  I  write,  there  comes  to  mind  a  grand  party  held  at 
George  French's,  in  Quincy,  fifty-odd  years  ago.  At  that  time 
the  Town  Hall  had  just  been  built,  with  a  bridge  across  to 
the  hotel.  The  dance  was  in  the  Town  Hall,  but  the  supper 
was  in  the  hotel.  I  remember  well  those  who  were  there, — 
the  Whites,  the  Hardwicks,  the  Williamses,  the  Curtises,  and 
the  Faxons.  That  was  what  one  would  call  "a  gay  old  time." 
It  was  the  only  time  I  cared  to  get  into  so  gay  a  company.  In 
this  company  there  were  no  Quincys,  no  Millers,  no  Adamses  ; 
no,  not  one, —  they  were  strangers  in  their  own  town. 

Then,  again,  from  what  Mr.  Adams  says,  Quincy  must  have 
been  strangely  illiterate.  Of  Weymouth  he  says  that  he  fan- 
cies the  first  daily  papers  came  here  about  1850.  Nothing 
shows  better  how  little  Mr.  Adams  knows  of  our  village.  If 
one  will  turn  to  page  65  in  Mr.  Adams's  life  of  his  father, 
"American  Statesmen  Series,"  he  will  read  of  the  number  of 
newspapers  more  than  sixty  years  ago.  The  Advertiser,  1813  ; 
the  Courier,  1824;  the  Transcript,  1830;  the  Post,  1831 ;  the 
Atlas,  1832;  the  Journal,  1833;  and  the  Traveller,  1845, — 
all  daily  papers.  All  of  these  papers  came  into  the  Landing. 
Why  should  Mr.  Adams  make  this  foolish  statement  that  no 
daily  papers  came  into  Weymouth  until  nigh  twenty  years  after 
they  were  published  }  Mr.  Adams  judges  all  towns  by  Quincy, 
that  he  lived  in,  or  by  what  people  have  told  him. 


240  Reminiscences. 

In  the  'forties  and  the  'fifties  Weymouth  was  far  in  advance 
of  the  neighboring  towns.  It  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
Abolitionists,  who  did  so  much  to  educate  our  people,  bringing 
in  men  like  Garrison,  Parker,  Phillips,  Pillsbury,  and  others. 
It  was  in  our  Weymouth  shoe  shops  that  the  battle  was  fought 
between  the  Abohtionists  and  the  anti-slavery  men.  I  believe 
that  in  1850  the  folks  of  the  village  took  daily  papers,  and 
were  better  read  in  politics  than  they  are  to-day. 

Mr.  Adams  tells  us  of  the  great  epoch,  so  far-reaching, 
which  came  at  the  opening  of  the  South  Shore  Railroad  in 
1849.  H^  describes  this  as  a  revolution  in  life,  occupation, 
education,  religion,  and  thought.  This  date  marks  the  divid- 
ing line  between  the  Weymouth  of  the  provincial  period  and 
the  Weymouth  of  to-day.  In  his  common-place  and  common- 
sense  way,  the  writer  regards  Mr.  Adams's  remarks  upon  this 
as  simply  a  flight  of  oratory  that  a  public  speaker  sometimes 
assumes  to  impress  his  hearers. 

Mr.  Adams  has  the  same  hallucination  that  others  have  had 
about  the  once  commercial  Weymouth.  Weymouth  never  had 
extensive  commerce,  other  than  the  packets  going  to  and 
coming  from  Boston.  It  was  an  agricultural  town.  The 
"  Iron  works  "  that  one  is  continually  told  of,  in  colonial  times, 
was  a  crude  affair,  ore  being  taken  from  some  of  the  meadows 
and  in  **01d  Ark"  pasture,  but  never  enough  to  make  it  a 
paying  business.  It  was  enough  for  folks  to  tell  of,  and  no 
doubt,  as  in  much  history,  the  fiction  will  be  taken  for 
fact. 

Finally,  Mr.  Adams  tells  us  of  the  bad  habits  of  our  ances- 
tors. In  speaking  of  the  past  an  old  gentleman  once  said, 
"  If  one  saw  a  drunken  man  lying  by  the  street,  it  would  not 
be  safe  to  kick  him,  for  he  might  be  your  grandfather."  If 
the  old  gentleman  had  been  a  person  I  had  respected  less,  I 
would  have  replied,  "  He  may  have  been  your  grandfather,  but 
not  mine."     And  still  out  of  this  past  have  come  our  greatest 


Miscellaneous  Events.  241 

statesmen,  our  greatest  writers,  our  greatest  divines.  I  some- 
times think  it  is  the  rough  and  tumble  of  life  that  gives  us  the 
best  results. 

"  What  can  an  old  man  do  but  die  ?  " 

Many  things.  Years  ago  my  sister  used  to  sing  this  sad 
refrain.  I  was  a  boy  then  ;  now  I  am  an  old,  old  man  in  years 
but  not  in  heart.  An  old  man  wants  three  things  ;  having 
them,  he  can  live  happily,  with  as  much  enjoyment,  and  per- 
haps more,  than  in  the  long  years  before,  for  his  cares  and 
troubles  are  mostly  behind  him. 

The  first  to  have  is  an  old  wife, — one  who  has  lived  with 
him  fifty  years  or  more.  She  knows  him  thoroughly,  and 
keeps  him  clean  in  heart  as  well  as  in  person.  There  is 
nothing  like  an  old  wife  —  the  bride  of  his  youth. 

Next,  the  old  man  wants  a  dog.  Senator  Vest  has  told  of 
the  love  of  a  dog  for  his  master  that  endureth  through  life. 
I  sometimes  think  of  the  friends  that  have  proven  false  —  an 
old  man  has  many  —  but  never  his  dog.  He  is  always  true 
and  loving,  in  poverty  and  in  riches,  in  hovel  or  in  palace. 

Then  the  old  man  wants  a  little  money  in  the  bank,  for, 
notwithstanding  the  Bible  saying  that  the  love  of  money  is  the 
root  of  all  evil,  one  is  poor  indeed  who  has  none.  For  as  Poor 
Richard  said  :  "  Now  I  have  a  cow  and  sheep,  my  neighbors 
say  '  Good  morning.'  "  True,  it  is  said  that  money  hath  wings 
and  will  fly  away;  but  when  the  promoter  and  stock-broker 
come  and  sing  their  siren  songs,  chop  off  the  wings ! 

Now,  when  the  old  man  has  these  three  things  —  the  old 
wife,  the  old  dog,  and  a  little  money  in  the  bank  —  he  can,  if 
managed  right,  live  long  and  happily. 

Then  to  keep  young,  one  wants  to  be  interested  in  growing 
things,  trees,  shrubs  and  plants.  The  more  difficult  the  kind 
to  grow,  the  better,  for  one's  interest  then  becomes  keen. 
There  is  nothing  so  hard  to  grow  as  roses,  and  nothing  so 


242  Reminiscences. 

beautiful.  When  one  gets  interested  in  rhododendrons,  they 
require  as  much  care  as  a  young  baby,  for,  like  the  baby,  they 
must  be  coddled  from  spring  to  fall,  and  from  fall  to  spring. 
Then  the  chances  are  that  you  will  lose  a  part ;  but  when  they 
are  in  bloom  they  repay  you  for  all  the  trouble. 

Next  to  have  is  what  few  seldom  have,  that  our  fathers 
always  had, —  a  good  garden  to  grow  all  the  vegetables.  One 
who  has  not  planted  peas,  beans,  corn,  tomatoes  and  potatoes, 
and  other  garden  vegetables,  can  never  know  the  pleasure  of 
watching  the  seed  sprout  and  grow  to  maturity,  and  then  the 
pleasure  of  gathering  the  fruit  of  one's  toil ;  and,  again,  the 
pleasure  of  having  enough  to  give  to  one's  good  neighbors  who 
have  no  land  for  a  garden. 

An  old  man  can  enjoy  all  of  this,  and  more  ;  for  when  it  gets 
cold  out  of  doors,  he  wants  a  snug  room,  with  his  desk  and 
easy-chair,  surrounded  by  his  books,  the  very  best  of  com- 
panions, in  the  warm  and  comfortable  house.  Here  he  can 
travel  the  world  over  in  the  best  of  company.  Now  he  goes 
with  Captain  Cook  around  the  world,  or  again  with  Lewis  and 
Clarke  across  the  continent  to  the  Pacific,  and  so  on.  When 
the  man  is  old,  nothing  can  quite  take  the  place  of  a  good 
library  close  by  his  hand.  Then  he  wants  a  few  friends  to 
come  in  of  a  night,  and  enjoy  his  books  with  him.  Few  care 
anything  about  good  books. 

Last,  and  by  no  means  least,  the  old  man  wants  to  prepare 
his  last  resting-place,  his  headstone  ready  with  name  upon  it, 
for  we  see  every  day  around  us  how  soon  one  is  forgotten  after 
death.  This  I  realize  on  my  visits  to  the  village  Cemetery, 
where,  walking  about,  I  find  so  many  unmarked  graves  of  those 
I  once  knew.  A  glowing  obituary  costs  little  and  passes  away 
with  the  newspaper  in  which  it  is  printed ;  much  better  is  a 
plain  slate  headstone  which  will  last  for  years.  Yes,  this  is 
one  of  the  things  that  an  old  man  should  see  to,  and  not  put 
it  off. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  243 

Now  I  have  not  told  one-half  that  an  old  man  may  do  other 
than  die,  but  enough  to  show  that  there  is  much  happiness  in 
life  for  the  old.  There  is  another  side  not  so  pleasant.  When 
the  old  man  goes  over  the  past,  his  memory  taking  him  back, 
the  sad,  sad  thing  is  how  few  friends,  of  those  he  has  helped 
most  and  those  he  has  trusted  in  most,  have  proved  true.  He 
can  well  say,  "Save  me  from  my  friends,  for  from  them  all 
trouble  comes."     His  enemies  he  knows ;  his  friends,  never. 

I  will  now  tell  what  a  young  man  can  do  to  live.  The  young 
man  is  an  unknown  quantity ;  the  old  man  we  know,  for  his 
life  is  all  in  the  past.  What  I  write  is  from  my  own  experi- 
ence ;  of  course  others  may  see  differently.  As  I  see  the 
boys  passing  through  the  streets  coming  from  school,  they  put 
me  in  mind  of  so  many  pollywogs  in  my  pond.  They  go 
hither  and  thither,  without  aim  or  thought ;  they  run  here  and 
there,  throw  a  stone  at  this  and  that,  and  I  have  no  peace  of 
mind  until  they  are  out  of  sight.  This  is  the  boy  yesterday, 
to-day,  and  forever. 

Now,  the  young  man  of  to-day  is  so  different  from  the  young 
man  of  my  boyhood,  —  seemingly  having  everything  that  he 
desires.  As  I  see  him,  he  wears  his  little  pancake  cap,  and  if 
one  of  the  older  boys,  why  he  wears  a  swagger  coat.  How 
unlike  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  when  the  boys  wore  the  trousers 
of  their  fathers,  turned  about  and  turned  up,  with  their  Bona- 
parte hats  of  sealskin !  How  happy  the  boy  of  to-day,  and 
how  happy  the  boy  of  other  days  ! 

Now,  it  is  the  boy  of  to-day,  with  all  his  superior  advan- 
tages, that  I  am  to  tell  what  to  do.  He  is  now  in  the  Gram- 
mar school,  and  his  studies  are  arithmetic,  reading,  spelling 
and  grammar,  and  in  time,  if  of  ordinary  ability,  he  will  know 
these  studies  well.  History  and  geography  are  of  no  account, 
for  history  he  can  read  at  any  time,  and  geography  changes 
every  day.  Yesterday  the  Philippines  were  Spanish,  and  so 
was  Cuba.     You  can  study  geography  out  of  our  daily  papers. 


244  Reminiscences. 

A  good  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  reading,  spelling  and  gram- 
mar is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  boy  must  build. 

In  the  meantime  the  young  man  must  determine  what  he 
will  do  in  the  future ;  will  he  have  a  profession,  will  he  have 
a  business  life  ?  He  cannot  make  up  his  mind  too  early  in 
this  matter.  Gov.  Boutwell  says  that  he  studied  law  when  in 
the  Grammar  school,  "before  he  had  even  seen  a  lawyer."  He 
succeeded  because  he  loved  what  he  undertook,  and  this  is  the 
main  thing  in  choosing  a  profession.  An  old  friend  said  to  me 
in  late  years  :  "  Edmund,  you  never  did  any  work."  *'  What," 
said  I,  "  never  did  any  work .?  Who  worked  harder  ?  "  "  No," 
said  he,  "you  always  loved  what  you  had  to  do." 

The  young  man  beginning  life  and  desiring  a  political  career, 
say  from  the  little  town  School-board  to  a  Representative  to 
Congress,  had  better  study  law;  for  never  mind  what  Poor 
Richard  says, — "God  works  wonders  now  and  then,"  and 
"  Behold  !  a  lawyer  and  an  honest  man  ; "  "  Law  is  an  easy 
road  to  an  easy  berth  ;  "  —  to  the  young  man  who  has  the  am- 
bition to  be  a  successful  lawyer,  I  would  say,  study  the  auto- 
biography of  Gov,  Boutwell. 

Then,  again,  the  young  man  may  choose  the  medical  pro- 
fession. In  this  profession  there  is  a  great  opportunity  for  a 
studious  man,  for  there  are  many  degrees, — allopathy,  homoeo- 
pathy, Christian  Science,  and  so  on  ad  infinitum. 

At  a  meeting  of  Christian  Scientists  one  member  told  this  : 
"  When  the  doctor  came  full  of  trouble,  bilious,  and  despon- 
dent, the  patient  died;  on  the  other  hand,  when  the  doctor 
came  with  a  cheery  smile  and  a  happy  *  Good  morning,'  the 
patient  lived,  despite  of  his  pills."  So  of  all  things  the  doctor 
must  be  equipped  with  a  pleasant  countenance,  that  cheers 
and  does  not  depress,  and  have  an  abundance  of  good  stories 
that  will  get  the  sick  one  out  of  himself. 

To  encourage  the  young  man,  I  will  say  one  of  the  most 
notable  and  able  men  raised  in  Weymouth  was  Dr.  William  C. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  245 

B.  Fifield,  son  of  old  Dr.  Noah  Fifield,  whom  I  knew  so  well. 
In  times  past,  if  one  boy  in  the  family  was  not  particularly 
healthy, —  say,  in  a  bilious  state, —  this  one  was  given  a  better 
education  and  prepared  for  the  ministry.  This  has  been  un- 
fortunate for  the  ministry,  for  if  any  profession  needs  a  strong 
man  it  is  that  in  which  the  man  has  to  bear  and  forbear. 

Years  ago  our  clergyman  was  settled  for  life.  He  owned 
his  house,  planted  trees  about,  and  had  his  garden.  He  knew 
there  he  was  to  live  and  there  he  was  to  die.  It  was  so  with 
Dr.  Storrs  of  Braintree.  He  seemed,  and  was,  the  greatest 
man  in  the  village.  So  it  was  with  Rev.  Jonas  Perkins,  our 
good  minister. 

"  Beside  the  bed  where  parting  life  was  laid, 
And  sorrow,  guilt  and  pain,  by  turns  dismayed, 
The  reverend  champion  stood ;  at  his  control, 
Despair  and  anguish  fled  the  struggling  soul ; 
Comfort  came  down,  the  trembling  wretch  to  raise. 
And  his  last  faltering  accents  whispered  praise." 

This  was  the  old  pastor  who  christened,  married,  and  com- 
forted in  their  last  moments  all  in  the  village. 

After  the  young  man  has  his  education  as  a  lawyer,  doctor 
or  clergyman,  he  must  locate  out  of  town.  For  one  is  not 
without  honor  save  in  his  own  country.  This  is  brought  to 
my  mind  from  knowing  that  all  of  our  lawyers,  doctors  and 
clergymen  came  from  out  of  town. 

No,  young  man,  unless  you  want  to  live  a  life  of  self-denial, 
do  not  become  a  minister.  It  has  been  the  writer's  good  for- 
tune to  have  the  acquaintance  of  many  clergymen,  and  they 
have  been  among  my  best  friends  for  many  years. 

Of  the  young  preacher  Poor  Richard  says : 

"  Our  youthful  teacher  see,  intent  on  fame, 
Warmth  to  gain  souls  ?     No,  'tis  to  gain  a  name. 
Behold  his  hands  displayed,  his  body  raised, 
With  what  a  zeal  he  labors  —  to  be  praised : 
Touched  with  the  weakness  which  he  doth  arraign." 


246  Reminiscences. 

Now  I  have  told  of  the  professions,  either  of  which  the 
young  man  may  choose.  But  who  supports  these  professions 
—  the  lawyer,  doctor,  clergyman  —  for  they  are  all  non-pro- 
ducers ?     They  are  like  the  lilies  of  the  field. 

This  is  what  the  young  man  can  do,  better  than  to  choose 
a  profession.  On  leaving  the  Grammar  school  he  can  go  to 
some  manufactory  as  a  workman,  study  up  all  that  one  can  get 
hold  of  relating  to  the  business,  and  work  for  no  one  longer  than 
he  can  help.  Drive  a  push-cart  rather  than  work  for  another. 
I  am  tired  when  I  see  men  content  all  their  days  to  work  for 
an  employer,  and  be  an  underling,  subject  to  the  whims  of  an 
employer  —  to-day  work,  to-morrow  none. 

Having  told  what  a  young  man  can  do  after  leaving  school, 
I  will  now  tell  what  he  should  not  do,  if  he  wants  success  in 
business.     I  am  now  talking  to  the  young  man. 

First,  I  would  advise  him  to  eschew  secret  societies,  not 
from  anything  bad,  but  that  they  will  take  his  mind  from 
things  of  more  importance.  A  lodge-room  is  a  pleasant  place, 
to  be  avoided  by  a  young  man.  Then  the  club-room  and  the 
card-room  ;  never  mind  if  your  mother  plays,  do  not  play  your- 
self. Billiards  is  a  fascinating  game  that  has  led  many  a  young 
man  into  trouble  from  bad  associations.  In  fact  a  young  man 
should  love  his  business  or  profession  as  he  loves  his  sweet- 
heart before  marriage.  Given  this  love,  and  he  wiU  succeed. 
"  A  good  wife  and  good  health  is  man's  good  wealth." 

In  my  readings  I  came  across  the  doings  in  the  quaint  town 
of  Utopia,  but  not  Sir  Thomas  More's  "Utopia."  As  they 
are'  so  different  from  the  ways  and  doings  in  our  town,  I  will 
tell  of  them.  In  Utopia  there  were  no  Democrats  nor  Repub- 
licans recognized,  but  all  came  together  to  work  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  town.  Each  candidate  chosen  at  the  caucus 
for  town  office  was  required  to  have  his  portrait  printed  in 
the  town  paper,  and  a  short  sketch  of  his  life,  showing  that  he 
was  native-born  or  otherwise.     In  each  ward-room  was  a  large 


Miscellatteous  Events.  247 

frame,  in  compartments,  to  hold  pictures  or  photographs  of 
the  candidates  to  be  voted  for.  This  frame  was  a  permanent 
fixture  of  the  ward-room.  Printed  on  each  compartment  was 
simply  "Town  Clerk,"  "Treasurer,"  and  so  on.  I  saw  that 
this  was  a  good  scheme,  for  not  long  ago  I  mixed  up  the 
Assessor  of;  the  east  with  the  Selectman  of  the  south  part  of 
the  town,  although  both  were  strangers  to  me.  The  ways  of 
Utopia,  if  used  in  our  town,  would  obviate  all  this  trouble. 
In  Utopia  no  one  can  be  a  Selectman  unless  over  fifty  years  of 
age  and  without  business,  for  I  learn  from  what  I  read  that  a 
man  will  look  after  his  own  business  first.  The  story  of  Utopia 
tells  that  if  one  depends  on  his  towns-people  for  trade,  or  for  a 
living,  he  cannot  be  independent ;  for  it  is  human  for  him  to 
protect  himself,  and  he  must  cross  no  one. 

There  were  but  three  Selectmen  in  this  town  of  Utopia,  and 
each  was  paid  a  yearly  salary  sufficient  for  his  needs,  so  that 
his  whole  time  could  be  devoted  to  the  service  of  the  town. 
It  was  the  rule  in  Utopia  that  no  Assessor  should  be  eligible 
unless  he  were  a  man  of  property,  holding  real  estate  in  the 
town.  To  the  writer  this  seemed  to  be  as  it  should  be.  The 
School  Board,  to  be  eligible,  were  required  to  pass  an  examina- 
tion in  the  various  studies  of  the  schools.  This  seemed  proper 
to  the  writer ;  otherwise,  when  the  boy  recites  Latin,  it  will  be 
Greek  to  the  School  Board. 

In  reading  over  the  doings  of  this  quaint  town,  there  are 
many  things  that  come  in  as  a  reminder,  and  it  seems  as 
though  they  had  passed  through  many  things  that  have  come 
across  us  in  our  own  town.  There  no  man  is  eligible  to  the 
office  of  Selectman  if  he  owns  a  gravel-pit,  or  even  a  horse  and 
cart.  This  the  writer  thinks  is  going  too  far,  but  so  it  was  in 
Utopia.  They  had  passed  through  the  loam  and  gravel  age, 
and  are  now  in  the  stone  age,  having  now  stone-crushers  and 
plenty  of  stone  to  crush.  Their  roads  are  good  in  Utopia.  I 
hope  to  see  this  in  our  town  soon. 


248  Reminiscences. 

In  reading  over  what  I  have  written  of  Utopia,  I  find  I  have 
omitted  one  of  the  requisites  for  Selectman.  It  is  that  in  con- 
tradistinction from  the  Assessor,  he  shall  hold  no  real  estate. 
To  the  writer  this  seemed  very  strange ;  but  on  hearing  the 
reasons  for  this  requirement,  he  was  satisfied  it  was  a  just  one. 
The  writer  was  told  that  years  ago  the  Selectman  who  owned 
land  by  a  road  was  in  favor  of  having  the  road  wider,  so  that 
he  could  sell  a  lot  of  worthless  land  for  a  good  price  to  the 
town. 

The  High  school  had  been  abolished  in  Utopia ;  this  also  I 
could  not  understand  until  it  was  explained  to  me.  These 
were  the  reasons  given.  It  had  been  found,  after  forty  years' 
experience,  that  this  High  school  was  a  failure.  The  writer 
was  told  that  the  scholar  who  had  gone  through  the  Grammar 
school,  and  secured  a  good  knowledge  of  reading,  spelling, 
arithmetic  and  grammar,  suitable  for  his  wants  as  a  business 
man  in  after-life,  was  then  sent  to  the  High  school  for  four 
years,  to  take  a  classical  course  of  Latin,  Greek  and  French, 
and  more  of  the  like.  This  was  found  to  obliterate  all 
the  scholar  had  learned  in  the  Grammar  school,  and  the  very 
learning  he  was  to  use  through  life.  This  was  emphasized  in 
a  neighboring  town  where  High  school  scholars  could  not  pass 
examinations  as  letter  carriers.  After  doing  away  with  the 
High  school,  the  Grammar  school  was  given  more  thought  and 
raised  to  a  higher  grade,  so  that  the  scholar  obtained  all  the 
knowledge  required  for  a  business  education. 

I  have  sometimes  thought  what  the  world  would  be,  had  the 
mothers  their  wishes,  and  all  the  boys  graduated  with  high 
degrees  as  professors,  ministers,  doctors,  lawyers,  and  judges. 
Who  is  to  care  for  these  non-producers .?  The  town  of  Utopia 
thought  the  business  men  must,  and  so  had  done  away  with  its 
useless  High  school.  Now  this  may  look  very  strange  that  a 
town  should  abolish  the  High  school,  but  in  Utopia  they  said 
they  had  good  reason  for  this  action. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  249 

In  that  town  there  are  but  two  churches,  the  Roman  Catho- 
Uc  and  the  Protestant,  and  both  are  large,  beautiful  stone 
churches.  The  Protestants  have  all  united,  throwing  aside 
their  little  differences  and  are  now  gathered  in  one  church. 
Where  they  once  had  a  half  dozen,  poor  struggling  parishes, 
now  they  have  one  grand  assembly.  To  the  writer  this  was 
the  best  thing  in  Utopia,  for  he  could  never  think  of  Heaven 
as  divided  up  into  small  parishes  to  suit  the  different  denomi- 
nations. What  they  have  done  in  this  town  of  Utopia  has  a 
great  attraction  to  the  writer. 

In  the  town  that  I  am  telling  of,  there  is  a  beautiful  library 
building  given  to  the  town  by  one  of  its  wealthy  business  men. 
Having  done  away  with  the  High  school,  this  library  had  on 
its  shelves  all  of  the  old  classic  authors  from  Chaucer  to  Shake- 
speare, and  all  of  the  translations  from  Greek,  Latin,  Hebrew, 
French,  Spanish,  Italian,  German,  etc. 

Here  the  boy  came  after  his  graduation  from  the  Grammar 
school  and  finished  his  education,  if  so  inclined.  In  this  lib- 
rary were  all  the  histories  from  Hume  to  Lingard,  and  from 
Macaulay  to  Green.  In  the  writer's  opinion  Lingard's  "  His- 
tory of  England  from  the  Roman  Catholic  View  "  is  equal  if 
not  superior  to  Hume,  and  is  much  referred  to  by  Green, 
Knight  and  others.  In  Utopia  there  was  always  a  full  edition 
of  the  author's  works  on  the  shelves.  This  is  as  it  should  be. 
The  boy  reads  De  Foe's  "  Robinson  Crusoe."  How  many 
know  that  he  wrote  a  dozen  books  besides,  all  "lies,"  except 
his  "True-born  Englishman  " .?  The  same  is  true  of  Cooper, 
Irving,  Scott,  Thackeray  and  Dickens,  although  perhaps  for- 
gotten as  soon  as  read,  but  they  served  their  purpose  in  passing 
off  many  a  dull  hour.  This  Utopian  library,  to  the  writer, 
seemed  to  be  a  model  library,  and  many  of  its  ways  might 
well  be  followed  to  the  advantage  of  other  libraries. 

Last  Sunday  I  was  walking  down  Front  street  admiring  the 
elms  beside  the  road  and  the  beautiful  arch  they  form,  so  like 


250  Reminiscences . 

a  grand  cathedral.  That  man  is  to  be  pitied  who  has  no  love 
for  the  beautiful,  who  has  never  planted  a  tree,  nor  watched  its 
growth  from  a  puny  sapling  to  the  sturdy  elm  or  oak.  On  my 
place  are  two  great  elms  which  I  planted  thirty-eight  years 
ago,  and  both  are  magnificent  specimens.  Their  ever  increas- 
ing, spreading  branches  would  allow  one  hundred  to  sit  in  their 
shade. 

No  village  can  show  finer  elms  than  ours.  A  wonderfully 
fine  old  elm  stands  on  Front  street  on  the  lot  belonging  to  the 
heirs  of  the  late  Mr.  John  E.  Hunt.  Another  stands  by  the 
Richards  house  in  Washington  Square.  It  is  said  that  this 
tree  was  planted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Clark,  the  minister  of  the 
old  Union  Church,  who  did  one  good  deed  in  planting  this 
grand  tree.  A  tablet  should  be  placed  against  it  showing  that 
the  first  minister  of  the  village  planted  it. 

Of  all  the  elms,  the  grandest  is  the  one  standing  by  the  old 
Cotton  Tufts  place  on  Commercial  street,  near  the  shore  and 
railroad.  I  often  wonder  if  it  was  there  when  Phineas  Pratt 
traveled  through  the  wilderness  to  Plymouth  to  tell  the  Pil- 
grims of  the  danger ;  was  it  here  when  Miles  Standish  came 
to  the  shore  of  the  Monatiquot,  —  when  the  Indians  dug  the 
clams  and  ate  them  seated  under  the  branches  of  a  great  tree .? 
I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  the  identical  tree. 

Our  trees  should  be  preserved.  They  are  the  beauty  of  our 
village.  Without  them  we  should  be  ugly  indeed.  Some  of 
our  finest  elms  by  the  roadside  have  been  sacrificed  by  our 
Selectmen,  who  upon  the  application  of  some  person  without  a 
thought  for  the  beautiful,  ordered  the  tree  cut  down,  and  so  it 
goes,  yesterday,  to-day,  but  I  pray  not  forever. 

This  love  of  the  beautiful  may  be  thought  of  small  account 
by  many,  but  the  memory  of  Frederick  Law  Olmstead  and 
Andrew  Jackson  Downing  will  live  because  of  the  beautiful 
work  they  did,  while  a  Rockefeller  or  a  Morgan  will  soon  be 
forgotten. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  251 

Something  over  forty  years  ago  (1863)  an  old  friend  of 
mine,  Mr.  David  Austin,  invited  me  to  go  to  the  grand  opera 
then  being  performed  at  the  Boston  Theatre.  As  I  had  never 
before  been  to  an  opera,  nor  had  I  been  inside  of  the  Boston 
Theatre,  it  was  an  invitation  I  could  not  forego.  It  was  an 
afternoon  performance,  and  I  recollect  well  how,  on  getting 
our  tickets  (costing  fifty  cents  each),  we  climbed  to  the  third 
gallery  —  years  ago,  in  the  old  Federal-street  Theatre,  it  was 
called  "nigger  row." 

My  old  friend,  being  of  the  musical  "cranks,"  claimed  that 
the  place  in  this  high-up  gallery  was  the  best  seat  in  the  whole 
house  in  which  to  hear  the  grand  music  of  the  opera.  To 
reach  this  seat  we  had  to  be  there  early,  for  there  was  a  great 
crush,  the  line  often  extending  from  the  ticket  office  to  the 
street. 

On  this  afternoon  we  listened  to  "  Lucia  di  Lammermoor," 
one  of  the  most  musical  of  Donizetti's  works,  whose  airs  played 
about  the  streets  by  the  Italians,  were  so  familiar.  The  prima 
donnas  were  Medora  and  Louise  Kellogg.  This  was  Miss 
Kellogg's  first  season,  and  she  was  young  and  beautiful,  and 
a  wonderfully  fine  singer.  Brignoli  was  the  tenor,  and  Her- 
mans the  basso. 

"  Lucia  di  Lammermoor  "  was  taken  from  Scott's  "Bride  of 
Lammermoor,"  an  "ower  true  tale."  Miss  Lucy  Ashton,  the 
daughter  of  Sir  William  Ashton,  had  engaged  herself  without 
the  knowledge  of  her  parents,  to  Lord  Ravenswood,  who  was 
not  acceptable  to  them  on  account  of  his  political  opinions  or 
lack  of  fortune.  The  young  couple  broke  a  piece  of  gold  and 
pledged  their  troth  in  the  most  solemn  manner.  It  was  said 
that  the  young  lady  imprecated  dreadful  evils  upon  herself 
should  she  break  her  plighted  faith. 

Shortly  after,  a  suitor  who  was  favored  by  Sir  William  and 
still  more  by  his  Lady,  paid  his  addresses  to  Miss  Ashton. 
The  young  lady  refused  the  proposal,  and  being  pressed  on 


252  Reminiscences. 

the  subject  confessed  her  secret  engagement.  Lady  Ashton, 
a  woman  accustomed  to  universal  submission,  treated  this  ob- 
jection as  a  trifle,  and  insisted  upon  her  daughter  yielding  her 
consent  to  marry  the  new  suitor,  Hayston  of  Bucklaw. 

The  first  lover,  Ravens  wood,  a  man  of  high  spirit,  interfered 
by  letter  and  insisted  on  the  right  he  had  by  his  plighted  troth 
to  the  young  lady.  As  the  story  goes,  Ravenswood  demanded 
an  interview  with  Miss  Ashton.  Lady  Ashton  did  not  refuse 
this,  but  took  care  to  be  present  in  person  and  argued  the  point 
with  the  disappointed  lover,  and  in  the  end  commanded  her 
daughter  to  return  to  her  plighted  suitor  the  piece  of  broken 
gold,  the  emblem  of  her  troth.  At  this  Ravenswood  burst 
forth  with  a  tremendous  passion,  took  leave  of  the  mother  with 
maledictions,  and  left  the  apartment.  As  he  went,  turning  to 
his  weak  if  not  fickle  mistress,  he  said,  "You,  madam,  will  be  a 
world's  wonder," — a  phrase  by  which  some  remarkable  degree 
of  calamity  is  implied. 

The  marriage  plans  betwixt  Lucy  Ashton  and  Bucklaw  now 
went  on,  the  bride  being  absolutely  passive  in  everything  her 
mother  advised.  As  was  then  usual,  the  wedding  day  was 
celebrated  by  a  great  assemblage  of  friends  and  relatives,  but 
she  was  the  same  —  sad,  silent  and  resigned  as  it  seemed,  to 
her  destiny.  The  bridal  feast  was  followed  by  dancing.  The 
bride  and  bridegroom  retired  as  usual,  when  of  a  sudden  the 
most  wild  and  piercing  cries  were  heard  from  the  nuptial 
chamber. 

To  prevent  any  coarse  pleasantries  it  was  the  custom  in 
those  times  that  the  key  to  the  nuptial  chamber  should  be 
entrusted  to  the  bridesman.  He  was  called  upon,  but  refused 
to  give  up  the  key  till  the  shrieks  became  so  hideous,  that  he 
was  compelled  to  hasten  with  others  to  learn  the  cause. 

Upon  opening  the  door,  they  found  the  bridegroom  lying 
across  the  threshold,  wounded  and  streaming  with  blood.  The 
bride  was  then  sought  for.     She  was  found  in  the  corner  of 


Miscellaneous  Events.  253 

the  large  chimney,  having  but  little  covering  and  that  dabbled 
in  gore.  There  she  sat  grinning  at  them,  moping  and  mowing, 
as  we  are  told  ;  in  a  word,  absolutely  insane.  The  only  words 
she  spoke  were,  "Take  up  your  bonny  bridegroom."  She 
survived  this  horrible  scene  a  little  more  than  a  fortnight, 
dying  on  the  twelfth  of  September,  1669. 

After  the  tragedy  Ravenswood  met  Colonel  Ashton,  the  son 
of  Sir  William  Ashton.  The  two  had  words,  and  arranged  to 
meet  at  the  hour  of  sunrise  on  the  links  to  the  west  of  Wolf's 
Hope,  Swords  were  their  weapons.  Colonel  Ashton  reached 
the  field  early  and  awaited  Ravenswood.  The  sun  had  now 
risen  so  that  he  could  easily  discern  a  horseman  riding  towards 
him.  At  once  the  figure  became  invisible  as  if  it  had  melted 
into  air.  He  rubbed  his  eyes  as  if  he  had  seen  an  apparition, 
and  then  hastened  to  the  spot,  near  which  he  was  met  by 
Ravenswood's  servant,  who  came  from  the  opposite  direction. 
No  trace  of  horse  or  rider  could  be  found.  The  unfortunate 
horseman  had  sunk  in  the  quicksand,  and  the  only  vestige  of 
his  fate  was  a  large,  sable  feather  detached  from  his  hat, 
wafted  to  the  shore  by  the  rising  tide.  Ravenswood's  old 
servant,  who  had  followed  him,  took  it  up,  dried  it,  and  placed 
it  in  his  bosom. 

Henry  Dwight  Sedgwick  has  a  delightful  essay  on  Lock- 
hart's  "  Life  of  Scott."  He  says,  "One  sometimes  wonders  if 
a  change  might  not,  without  hurt,  be  made  in  the  studies  of 
boys ;  whether  Greek  composition,  or  even  solid  geometry,  — 
studies  rolled  upward  like  a  stone,  to  roll  down  again  at  the 
year's  end  with  a  glorious  splash  in  the  pool  of  oblivion  — 
might  not  be  discontinued,  and  a  course  of  biography  put  in 
its  stead.  Boys  should  read  and  read  again  the  biographies  of 
good  men.  The  first  two  should  be  Cervantes'  "Don  Quixote," 
and  Lockhart's  "  Life  of  Scott." 

In  the  last  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  following  works  were  written   and   pub- 


254  Reminiscences. 

lished,  as  I  find  them,  in  small  editions  :  "  Alonzo  and  Melissa," 
" Rinaldo-Rinaldina,"  "Three  Spaniards,"  "  Sandford  and  Mer- 
ton,"  "Paul  and  Virginia,"  "Castle  of  Otranto,"  "Children  of 
the  Abbey,"  "  Alonzo  the  Brave,"  and  "The  Monk."  These 
are  now  rare  books  and  only  desired  as  curiosities,  being  hard 
to  find  except  at  auction  sales.  Seventy-five  or  a  hundred 
years  ago  these  were  the  books  our  ancestors  read,  and  elderly 
folks  will  easily  recall  them. 

Our  first  American  novelist  was  Charles  Brockden  Brown 
(1771-1810).  A  beautiful  limited  edition  of  his  works  has 
recently  been  published,  which  I  have  in  my  library,  but  I  care 
little  for  the  weird,  mysterious  novels  of  a  hundred  years  ago. 

James  Fenimore  Cooper  (1789-185 1)  was  our  greatest 
American  novelist.  Scott,  of  whom  I  have  already  told,  was  a 
true  romancer,  while  Cooper  was  the  story  teller.  Some  forty 
years  ago  (1865),  when  looking  through  the  house  I  afterwards 
bought,  I  found  a  bookcase  containing  a  fine  edition  of  thirty- 
two  volumes  of  Cooper's  novels.  These  I  bought  with  my 
house,  and  it  was  the  beginning  of  my  library  which  is  a  good 
one.  For  every  dollar  that  it  has  cost  it  is  worth  four.  There 
is  money  in  books,  if  bought  right,  as  well  as  good  reading. 

Cooper,  in  his  younger  days,  served  several  years  in  the 
United  States  Navy.  The  knowledge  then  acquired  was  of 
great  help  to  him  in  his  sea  tales.  His  first  novel,  "Precau- 
tion "  gave  little  satisfaction  to  the  author  or  pleasure  to  the 
reader.  Three  years  later  "The  Spy"  was  published.  This 
was  perhaps  his  greatest  novel,  and  it  had  immediate  success. 

The  scene  of  "The  Spy"  was  laid  about  New  York  city  and 
the  surrounding  country,  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
Royalists  were  in  the  majority,  and  the  war  was  like  a  civil 
war.  The  peddler,  Harvey  Birch,  was  the  hero  —  there  were 
few  heroines  in  Cooper.  Harvey  Birch  posed  as  a  Royalist 
and  was  many  times  captured  by  the  Patriots,  and  many 
times  came  near  death  from  hanging,  but  always  at  the  last 


Miscellaneous  Events.  255 

moment  he  was  reprieved  by  some  mysterious  power,  supposed 
to  be  General  Washington,  by  whom  he  was  employed. 

"  The  Spy "  was  received  with  doubt  by  our  people,  who 
were  then  young  and  must  wait  for  word  from  across  the 
water  in  England.  There  it  was  received  with  a  popularity 
equaling  Scott's,  who  was  then  at  the  zenith  of  his  success  ;  it 
ran  through  many  editions  in  both  countries,  and  spread  to  the 
continent.  All  over  Europe  it  was  honored  with  a  greater 
number  of  translations  and  attracted  wider  admiration  than 
any  similar  work  ever  written  in  English. 

With  Cooper  one  could  travel  the  seas  over ;  in  "  The 
Pilot  "  we  sail  in  the  "  Ariel  "  with  "  Long  Tom  Coffin  " 
through  the  English  Channel,  —  the  pilot  John  Paul  Jones  ; 
then  we  go  from  Garner's  Bay,  Long  Island,  a-hunting  for 
sea-lions  in  the  Antarctic  regions  ;  again,  we  visit  the  Florida 
reefs  with  Jack  Tier  ;  now  we  pass  through  the  Bravo  to 
Venice  ;  now  we  sail  up  the  Mediterranean  in  "  Le  Feu  Fol- 
let,"  and  over  the  seas  with  Miles  Wallingford.  Best  of  all,  I 
thought,  the  "  Crater,"  when  we  sailed  from  Philadelphia  to 
the  Pacific,  and  were  wrecked  on  a  volcanic  island,  and  Robin- 
son Crusoe-like  lived  so  pleasantly  for  a  short  time,  until  all 
was  changed  by  a  vessel  coming  in  search  of  us  from  Philadel- 
phia. With  the  searching  party  were  a  Baptist,  a  Methodist 
and  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and  a  lawyer.  Before  this  time 
there  was  only  an  Episcopal  minister. 

Cooper,  a  strong  Church  of  England  man,  could  never  toler- 
ate any  other  creed,  and  not  long  after  the  arrival  of  this  im- 
portation its  consequences  became  visible.  The  sectarians 
began  with  a  thousand  professions  of  brotherly  love  and  a 
great  parade  of  Christian  charity.  Indeed,  they  pretended 
that  they  emigrated  in  order  to  enjoy  a  greater  degree  of 
religious  liberty  than  there  was  then  to  be  found  in  America, 
where  men  were  divided  into  sects  and  thought  more  of  their 
distinguishing  tenets  than  of  the  Being  they  professed  to  serve. 


256  Reminiscences. 

These  men  set  to  work  immediately  to  collect  followers  and 
believers  of  their  own  peculiar  notions. 

Parson  Hornblower,  the  Episcopalian,  who  had  hitherto  had 
the  ground  to  himself,  now  buckled  on  his  armor  and  took  the 
field  in  earnest.  In  order  that  the  sheep  of  one  flock  should 
not  be  mistaken  for  the  sheep  of  another,  great  care  was  taken 
to  mark  each  and  all  with  the  brand  of  the  sect.  One  clipped 
the  ears,  another  smeared  the  wool,  or  drew  it  over  the  eyes, 
and  so  on.  In  a  word,  on  those  remote  and  sweet  islands, 
which,  basking  in  the  sun  and  cooled  by  the  trades,  seemed 
designed  by  Providence  to  sing  hymns  daily  and  hourly  to 
their  Maker's  praise,  the  subtleties  of  sectarian  faith  smoth- 
ered that  humble  submission  to  the  divine  law,  trusting  solely 
to  the  mediation,  and  substituting  immaterial  observances  and 
theories  which  were  more  strenuously  urged  than  clearly  un- 
derstood. The  devil,  in  a  form  of  a  professor,  again  entered 
Eden,  and  the  peak,  with  so  much  to  raise  the  soul  above  the 
grosser  strife  of  men,  was  soon  ringing  with  discussions  on 
"free  grace,"  "immersion,"  "spiritual  baptisms,"  and"  the 
apostolic  succession." 

The  birds  sang  sweetly  as  ever,  and  their  morning  and  even- 
ing songs  hymned  the  praise  of  their  Creator  as  of  old ;  but 
not  so  was  it  with  the  morning  and  evening  devotions  of  man. 
They  were  all  praying  at  each  other.  Shortly  after  the  law- 
yer made  his  appearance  men  began  to  discover  they  were 
wronged  by  their  neighbors  in  a  hundred  ways  which  they 
had  never  before  discovered.  Law,  which  had  hitherto  been 
used  for  the  purposes  of  justice,  and  for  justice  only,  now 
began  to  be  used  for  purposes  of  speculation  and  revenge. 
A  virtue  was  found  in  it  that  had  never  before  been  sus- 
pected of  existing  in  the  colony ;  it  was  discovered  that  men 
could  not  only  make  very  comfortable  livings,  but  in  some 
cases  get  rich  by  the  law,  —  not  by  its  practice  but  by  its 
practices. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  257 

Now  came  an  entirely  new  class  of  philanthropists, —  men 
who  were  ever  ready  to  lend  their  money  to  such  of  the  needy 
as  possessed  property,  taking  judgment  bonds,  mortgages  and 
other  innocent  securities,  which  were  received  because  the 
lenders  acted  on  a  principle  of  not  lending  without  them,  or  had 
taken  a  vow,  or  made  promises  to  their  wives :  the  end  being 
transfer  of  title,  by  which  the  friend  and  assistant  commonly 
relieved  his  dupe  of  the  future  care  of  his  property ;  coming 
out  of  the  lawyer's  hands  as  the  ear  of  corn  from  the  sheller, 
nothing  but  cob. 

Unhappily,  among  those  who  came  was  a  printer.  The 
press  took  up  the  cause  of  human  rights  and  endeavored  to 
transfer  the  power  of  state  from  the  public  departments  to  its 
own  printing  office.  The  people  were  soon  convinced  that 
they  had  hitherto  been  living  under  an  unheard-of  tyranny, 
and  were  weekly  invoked  to  arise  in  their  might  and  be  true  to 
themselves  and  their  posterity.  At  this  point  in  the  narrative 
the  "  Crater  Truth  Teller  "  could  utter  its  lies  as  a  privileged 
publication,  and  the  colony  having  no  doctors  was  remarkably 
healthy. 

Some  idea  of  Cooper  can  be  gathered  from  this  that  I  have 
written.  Captain  Woolston,  the  hero  of  this  tale,  in  time  sailed 
for  home,  and  after  two  or  three  years,  getting  tired  of  the 
land  and  curious  to  know  how  the  folks  left  on  the  Crater  were 
getting  along,  he  fitted  up  a  vessel  with  an  assorted  cargo,  and 
sailed  for  the  Pacific  ocean,  —  from  its  latitude  and  longitude 
knowing  just  where  to  find  the  Crater.  Arriving  on  the  spot 
he  found  no  island,  but  a  cone  rising  out  of  the  water,  like  the 
summit  of  a  mountain,  with  one  tree  upon  its  top.  This  bit  of 
land  the  captain  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  Crater,  and  on 
taking  soundings  brought  up  the  skeleton  of  a  goat.  The 
whole  island  had  sunk  into  the  sea,  from  which  it  had  been 
thrown  ages  before  by  volcanic  action.  Many  years  ago  I 
read  this  story  by  Cooper,  and  I  still  think  it  one  of  his  best. 


258  Reminiscences . 

My  health  not  being  up  to  its  usual  standard,  gives  a  mor- 
tuary tendency  to  my  thought. 

Before  the  Union  Church  was  organized,  the  folks  in  the 
village  buried  their  dead  in  the  Old  North  Burying  ground. 
After  this  church  was  established,  the  question  came  where 
they  could  have  a  Burying  ground  nearer  than  the  Old  North. 
Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt  said,  "  You  may  have  my  gravel  hill," 
and  so  it  was  used  as  the  Burying  ground  of  the  Society  until 
the  village  Cemetery  was  laid  out. 

It  is  a  pleasure  to  the  writer  to  go  through  the  old  Burying 
ground  (Ashwood  Cemetery),  deserted,  unkempt,  where  the 
trees  and  bushes  grow  as  they  list,  and  find  here  and  there 
some  old  slate  stone  in  memory  of  one  long  forgotten,  and 
decipher  the  quaint  words  inscribed.  This  Hunt  Burying- 
ground  is  always  interesting  to  me,  for  here  I  find  what  I  wish 
was  not,  —  a  lot  of  old  tombs,  once  filled  with  many  of  my 
ancestors.  Had  they  been  buried  under  the  green  sward,  with 
good  slate  headstones,  like  those  standing  on  the  hill  above,  I 
could  go  about  and  read  the  names,  instead  of  having  to  look 
them  up  in  some  genealogy  of  the  family. 

A  tomb  is  an  uncanny  thing ;  it  makes  death  far  more  ter- 
rible, and  it  is  good  that  they  are  going  out  of  fashion.  I  say 
fashion,  because  there  is  just  as  much  fashion  in  our  new  cem- 
eteries as  out  of  them,  and  the  fashion  is  improving  in  many 
ways.  The  old  iron  fences  and  stone  curbs  have  gone  out  of 
fashion.  I  remember  wooden  fences  enclosing  the  grave  of  a 
child  in  the  Hunt  Burying  ground.  Long  ago  these  decayed, 
and  the  iron  fence  is  fast  following,  never  to  be  renewed,  I 
trust. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  the  slate  headstones,  as  those  are  all 
we  find  in  the  old  cemeteries.  Slate  endures  forever,  while 
marble  decays  and  in  time  crumbles  away.  In  the  Hunt  Bury- 
ing ground  the  slate  stones  are  as  good  as  they  were  the  day 
they  were  placed  there,  but  the  marble  ones  have  fallen  to  the 


Miscellaneous  Events.  259 

ground.  The  grave  of  Nathan  W.  Dickerman  was  once  marked 
by  a  marble  headstone  bearing  a  quaint  inscription.  This  stone 
is  broken  in  many  pieces,  and  not  long  ago  I  got  down  on  my 
knees  and,  clearing  the  litter  away,  read :  "  Nathan  W.,  son  of 
Nathan  and  Rebecca  Dickerman,  born  March  26,  1822  ;  died 
Jan.  2,  1830."  In  an  old  book  I  found  the  following  relating 
to  him  :  — 

This  lovely  little  boy  whose  memoir,  written  by  Rev.  Gorham  D. 
Abbott  in  one  of  the  issues  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  began 
to  attend  the  Sabbath  school  in  Hawkins  street,  Boston,  in  March, 
1827,  when  he  was  five  years  old.  The  religious  instruction  he 
now  began  to  receive  deeply  affected  his  mind.  To  obtain  a  new 
heart  in  order  to  please  God,  and  enjoy  His  favor  now  and  forever, 
became,  even  at  that  tender  age,  the  object  of  his  chief  desire.  It 
was  not,  however,  till  after  the  lapse  of  more  than  two  years  that 
his  mind  settled  in  a  comfortable  hope  of  acceptance  in  God.  In 
the  meantime  he  was  taken  with  a  severe  illness,  resulting  in  death. 

His  religious  character  was  so  developed,  that  it  was  evident  he 
was  taught  of  God.  He  was  visited  Oct.  22,  1829,  by  the  Examin- 
ing Committee  of  Dr.  Jenks's  Church  and  approved  a  suitable  candi- 
date for  admission  to  that  body.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  Sabbath, 
Nov.  I,  1829,  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks  and  several  members  of  his  church 
visited  Nathan's  sick  room,  and  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper 
was  administered  to  him.  Seldom  has  such  a  scene  been  witnessed 
on  earth  ;  he  seemed  cheerful  and  happy. 

He  declined  more  and  more  in  health,  but  continued  to  give  in- 
creasing evidence  of  a  gracious  state  of  heart  till  Jan.  2,  1830,  when 
he  died.  Dr.  Jenks  said,  "  Since  I  entered  the  pulpit,  now  thirty- 
three  years,  I  have  never  seen  so  bright  and  sweet  an  exhibition  of 
early  and  efficient  piety." 

The  broken  headstone  that  I  dug  out  of  the  dirt  and  rub- 
bish was  to  the  memory  of  this  boy,  whose  grave  was  visited 
by  many  from  a  distance.  His  memoir  can,  no  doubt,  be  found 
to-day  in  many  Sunday  School  libraries. 


26o  Reminiscences. 

The  ground  in  the  Hunt  burying  place  seems  to  be  com- 
pletely filled  with  graves.  Few  headstones  were  used  except 
common  wall  stones  in  the  early  days,  so  that  all  record  of 
those  buried  is  lost.  The  grounds  on  the  hill  are  now  in  a  sadly 
dilapidated  state,  and  the  bushes  and  trees,  instead  of  being 
mowed  off  each  year,  should  be  allowed  to  grow  so  as  to  cover 
over  the  ground. 

I  have  lately  finished  reading  the  reminiscences  of  Governor 
Bout  well  and  of  Senator  Hoar.  First,  I  read  Bout  well,  and 
his  boyhood  days  of  which  he  tells  are  very  interesting,  as 
they  are  much  like  the  days  I  remember  seventy  years  ago. 
Boutwell  was  born  in  the  town  of  Brookline,  Jan.  28,  18 18. 
His  father  was  a  farmer,  and  in  1820  removed  to  Lunenburg, 
Worcester  County,  where  he  became  the  best  farmer  in  the 
county. 

Young  Boutwell  went  to  the  district  school  when  five  years 
of  age,  working  on  the  farm  between  school  hours  until  his 
seventeenth  birthday,  when  he  left  school  for  good.  In  1830 
he  found  employment  in  the  country  store  in  the  village,  get- 
ting his  board  and  clothes  and  the  privilege  of  attending  school 
in  the  winter  months. 

In  November,  1834,  he  accepted  the  position  of  a  teacher  in 
a  district  school,  his  pay  being  sixteen  dollars  a  month  and 
board.  Many  of  his  pupils  were  advanced  in  years,  and  sev- 
eral were  older  than  the  schoolmaster.  It  was  thus  in  the 
private  schools  of  our  village.  This  was  Boutwell's  only  school 
teaching. 

In  February,  1835,  he  went  to  Groton  to  accept  a  clerkship 
in  a  store ;  that  ended  in  September  with  the  failure  of  the 
proprietor.  All  this  time  he  was  studying  hard  the  best 
writers.  At  that  time  the  town  of  Groton  was  a  place  of 
much  importance,  and  the  home  of  men  of  more  than  local 
fame.  Timothy  Fuller,  the  father  of  Margaret  Fuller  and  a 
lawyer  of  considerable  importance,  lived  there.     His  daughter 


Miscellaneous  Events.  261 

was  a  teacher  in  the  Sunday  school  there,  and  was  accustomed 
to  set  forth  her  opinions  with  great  frankness,  and  in  a  style 
which  assumed  that  they  were  not  open  to  debate. 

Mr.  Boutwell  says  :  "  In  personal  appearance  Margaret 
Fuller  was  less  attractive  than  one  might  imagine  from  por- 
traits and  engravings  now  seen.  Her  ability  was  recognized, 
but  the  celebrity  that  she  finally  attained  was  not  anticipated 
probably  by  any  of  her  town  acquaintances." 

Mr.  Boutwell  began  the  study  of  law  with  Bradford  Russell, 
his  office  being  over  the  store  where  he  had  been  a  clerk,  and 
here  he  gave  much  attention  to  professional  studies.  After 
leaving  the  Dix  store  he  had  been  in  the  employ  of  Mr.  Woods, 
but  in  the  autumn  of  1837  he  informed  the  latter  gentleman 
that  he  proposed  going  to  Exeter  Academy,  and  either  enter 
college  or  study  law. 

Mr.  Wood  made  the  proposition  to  furnish  the  capital,  give 
one-fourth  of  the  receipts  and  pay  his  board.  Mr.  Boutwell 
accepted  the  proposition.  He  was  at  this  time  twenty  years 
of  age.  Thus  was  the  foundation  laid  upon  which  he  built  so 
splendidly. 

In  the  "Autobiography  of  Seventy  Years,"  by  George  F. 
Hoar,  it  seems  that  the  author's  lines  always  fell  in  pleasant 
places.  It  is  a  most  interesting  book  and  could  have  been 
written  by  none  other  than  a  happy  man  full  of  humor.  Sen- 
ator Hoar  tells  much  of  his  ancestry  and  he  may  well  be  proud 
of  it,  for  it  was  of  the  best  old  stock  of  the  country. 

The  Senator  says  :  "  I  have  never  got  over  being  a  boy.  It 
does  not  seem  likely  I  ever  shall."  This  is  his  greatest  charm 
in  all  he  wrircs.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of  Concord  —  the 
Concord  of  Emerson,  Hawthorne,  Thoreau,  Alcott,  and  the 
very  center  of  intellectual  life. 

On  his  sixteenth  birthday,  in  1842,  Senator  Hoar  entered 
Harvard.  Of  his  life  at  Harvard  and  of  the  noted  people  he 
knew  there  he  wrote  many  chapters.     To  my  son,  a  graduate 


262  Reminiscences. 

of  Harvard,  this  is  far  more  interesting  than  to  his  father  who 
graduated  from  the  district  school  on  Front  street. 

His  autobiography  is  always  interesting,  but  particularly  so 
when  telling  of  the  many  notable  men  he  has  met,  all  so  pleas- 
antly, save  one,  Benjamin  F,  Butler.  To  this  celebrity  he 
gives  a  long  chapter.  He  tells  of  him  from  the  beginning  to 
the  end,  and  to  the  writer  this  long  chapter  about  Butler  is 
fine  reading  and  true  as  gospel.  From  what  Senator  Hoar 
tells,  Butler  was  the  man  who  did  the  most  to  put  him  into  the 
Senate.  This  is  as  I  read  it.  From  some  reason  Butler  had 
enough  influence  with  President  Grant  to  secure  the  patronage 
of  the  Government  offices  in  Massachusetts,  turning  out  Col- 
lector Russell  and  putting  in  his  henchman,  William  A.  Sim- 
mons, much  to  the  disgust  of  the  Republicans  of  Boston. 

At  this  time  Governor  Boutwell  was  our  Senator,  filling  out 
the  unexpired  term  of  Henry  Wilson,  who  had  been  chosen 
Vice-president  with  Grant.  Boutwell  was  put  in  nomination 
again,  but  from  his  having  Butler  and  Simmons  as  managers 
of  his  campaign,  the  bitter  feeling  against  them  defeated  him, 
and  Senator  Hoar  was  chosen  to  the  office  he  held  until  his 
death,  Sept.  30,  1904.  To  the  student  these  autobiographies 
are  invaluable.  Governor  Boutwell  tells  the  plain  facts  in  a 
cold  way,  while  Senator  Hoar  makes  all  he  touches  interesting. 

Governor  Boutwell  tells  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1853, — a  gathering  of  the  most  notable  men  that  ever  came 
together  in  Massachusetts.  On  reading  of  these  times  one  is 
convinced  that  "  there  were  giants  in  those  days." 

In  the  decade  of  the  'fifties  our  best  books  were  being  writ- 
ten and  published.  There  are  no  novelists  to-day  that  can 
compare  with  the  writers  of  fifty  years  ago.  We  have  had 
historians  like  John  Fiske  who  compare  with  the  best  of  any 
period. 

Of  the  novels  written,  published  and  read  in  the  'fifties,  I 
will  mention  a  part  of  those  that  I  can  say  with  some  degree 


Miscellaneous  Events.  263 

of  pride  I  have  read.  Our  only  Southern  poet  and  novelist  of 
that  time  that  I  knew  was  Wm.  Gilmore  Simms.  His  tales  are 
of  the  Revolution, — *'  Border  Beagles  "  and  "  Marion  and  his 
Men."  Herman  Melville's  "Typee,"  Hawthorne's  "Scarlet 
Letter,"  Prescott's  "Philip  the  Second,"  Motley's  "Dutch 
Republic,"  Holmes's  "  Breakfast  Table,"  Parkman's  "  Oregon 
Trail."  Then  from  across  the  water  came  Sue's  "Wandering 
Jew,"  Ainsworth's  "Old  St.  Paul's,"  Reynolds's  "Life  in  Lon- 
don," George  Sand's  "  Consuelo,"  Dickens's  "  David  Cop- 
perfield,"  Thackeray's  "Vanity  Fair,"  Blackmore's  "Lorna 
Doone,"  Bulwer's  "  Last  Days  of  Pompeii,"  Kingsley's  "  Ra- 
venshoe,"  Dumas'  "Three  Guardsmen,"  Hugo's  "LesMiser- 
ables,"  and  many  others.  When  a  book  is  first  published  it  is 
read,  and  these  I  have  mentioned  came  out  in  the  'fifties. 

I  sometimes  have  a  young  man  say  to  me  that  the  chances 
for  a  business  life  were  better  years  ago  than  to-day.  Now 
we  will  see :  the  business  in  Weymouth  was  mostly  the  shoe 
business,  which  was  done  in  a  very  small  way  compared  with 
to-day.  No  one  then  made  any  money  over  living  expenses, 
which  were  exceedingly  small.  Wages  then  paid  a  good  man 
in  the  shop  were  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  day, — 
what  I  now  pay  a  boy  in  my  factory.  One  can  imagine  how 
hard  it  was  for  a  man  with  a  large  family  to  get  along  on 
seven  dollars  a  week,  but  this  was  the  average  pay. 

As  I  look  from  my  window  early  in  the  morning  and  see 
young  girls  hurrying  to  the  train,  I  think  of  the  years  long 
ago,  when  all  the  girl  had  to  do  was  the  housework,  helping 
her  mother  in  the  household,  and  waiting  for  the  young  man 
who  would  make  or  mar  her  life.  To-day  our  factories  are 
filled  with  women  who  earn  as  much  as  the  men.  As  I  look 
back  to  the  olden  times  with  so  few  occupations,  it  seems  to 
have  been  a  hard  time  indeed :  a  man  with  ten  or  twenty 
thousand  dollars  was  wealthy.  A  millionaire  was  a  rara  avis  ; 
few  were  to  be  found  in  New  England,  where  now  there  are 


264  Reminiscences. 

many ;  but  still,  life  with  all  its  discomforts  seemed  better  and 
higher  than  to-day. 

Now,  the  chances  in  business  are  many  for  the  young  man 
with  push  and  ambition.  Franklin,  with  all  his  knowledge, 
little  knew  of  the  power  he  had  invoked  when  he  coaxed 
the  electric  spark  from  the  clouds  with  his  kite,  line  and 
key. 

Twenty-seven  years  ago  when  in  Liverpool,  I  saw  for  the 
first  time  an  electric  light  high  up  in  the  air,  and  I  wondered 
what  it  was.  To-day  electricity  is  the  coming  power.  It 
sends  messages  across  the  ocean ;  it  enables  us  to  talk  through 
the  telephone  ;  it  drives  our  cars ;  it  manufactures  our  chemi- 
cals ;  it  makes  the  mines  of  Lake  Superior  a  source  of  great 
wealth  from  the  copper  required  for  the  construction  of  our 
electric  roads  ;  and  it  lights  our  houses,  factories  and  streets. 
To  those  who  lived  fifty  years  ago,  what  a  wonderful  thing  ! 

There  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  men  in  the 
factories  manufacturing  electrical  appliances,  building  roads 
and  employed  on  the  cars.  In  this  work  is  the  grand  chance 
for  the  young  man,  —  electrical  engineering,  —  for  it  is  the 
power  that  will  move  the  earth  in  time.  Where  there  was  one 
chance  for  the  young  man  fifty  years  ago  there  are  fifty  now, 
and  yesterday  was  the  best  day  we  have  ever  seen. 

About  1880  the  first  fire-cracker  was  made  in  this  country. 
Previous  to  this  time  they  were  all  made  in  China.  These  fire- 
crackers were  charged  with  a  crude  kind  of  gunpowder,  of 
which  the  Chinese  were  the  first  manufacturers. 

Some  years  ago  the  missionaries  in  this  country  had  a  great 
and  increasing  demand  for  Bibles,  which  was  very  satisfactory, 
the  missionaries  thinking  that  the  conversion  of  the  Chinese 
was  at  hand ;  but  it  was  not  so,  for  these  heathen  Chinese  were 
converting  these  Bibles  into  fire-crackers.  They  then  sent 
the  crackers  back  to  this  country  to  plague  the  good  people 
who  want  a  quiet  Fourth  of  July. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  265 

Some  five  years  later,  the  writer  began  the  manufacture  of 
fire-crackers,  but  not  before  he  made  a  thorough  diagnosis,  and 
this  was  what  he  arrived  at :  that  so  long  as  boys  and  girls 
are  born  into  the  world,  and  there  is  a  Fourth  of  July  in  the 
North,  and  a  Christmas  in  the  South,  fire-crackers  will  be  in 
demand.  There  are  some  exceptions  to  this,  but  they  only 
prove  the  rule. 

After  this  diagnosis,  the  writer  concluded  to  make  the  man- 
ufacture of  fire  crackers  his  business,  and  he  made  no  mistake. 
I  quote  from  Edmund  Burke,  who  hits  the  case  exactly  :  "  Be- 
cause half  a  dozen  grasshoppers  under  a  fern  make  the  field 
ring  with  their  importunate  chink,  whilst  thousands  of  great 
cattle,  reposed  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  British  oak,  chew  the 
cud  and  are  silent,  pray  do  not  imagine  that  those  who  make 
the  noise  are  the  only  inhabitants  of  the  field  ;  that  of  course 
they  are  many  in  number ;  or  that,  after  all,  they  are  other 
than  the  little  shrivelled,  meagre,  hopping,  though  loud  and 
troublesome  insects  of  the  hour." 

Some  seventy  years  ago  Weymouth,  more  particularly  Wey- 
mouth Landing,  was  noted  for  its  fine  musical  talent.  There 
were  several  families  prominent,  among  whom  were  the  Nashes 
and  Frenches  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  and  the  Hunts 
and  Cushings  of  the  Landing.  Others  were  Thomas  Webb  and 
John  Wildes,  both  of  the  best  in  music.  We  have  had  none 
since,  equalling  those  of  whom  I  write. 

My  father  had  two  brothers,  Ebenezer  and  William,  both 
good  musicians ;  one  the  President  and  the  other  the  Vice- 
president  of  the  famous  old  choir  of  the  Union  Church. 
William  left  a  family,  and  not  one  of  them  of  any  musical 
ability,  while  Ebenezer  Hunt's  family  were  of  exceptional  musi- 
cal talent.  The  Cushings  were  a  branch  of  the  Hunt  family, 
and  inherited  their  love  of  music  from  the  Hunts. 

Now  with  the  generations  following,  all  the  musical  genius 
went  out ;  it  is  hard  to  find  a  Hunt  who  can  sing  to-day,  and 


266  Reminiscences. 

there  are  very  few  musicians  among  them.  This  shows  the 
decadence  of  music  in  our  village.  In  the  old  days  every 
family  party  was  a  musical  gathering ;  now  it  is  —  what  1  A 
club  ;  and  the  question  is  not,  "  What  is  the  key?  "  but  "What's 
trumps .? " 

I  think  there  has  always  been  a  musical  organization  in  this 
village  until  some  twenty  years  ago,  usually  connected  with 
the  Union  Church,  but  of  this  I  can  say  but  little.  Sometime 
about  I  Zy6,  perhaps  a  little  later,  a  Choral  Society  was  organ- 
ized, with  Elias  Richards  as  President,  and  we  met  in  the  office 
connected  with  his  house.  Captain  Andrews  Lane  was  sent 
out  to  get  the  minds  of  the  people  of  the  village,  and  from  the 
start  the  organization  was  a  success.  The  meetings  were  held 
in  Clapp's  Hall  on  Sunday  nights.  Nothing  ever  came  into 
our  village  which  gave  the  pleasure  of  these  rehearsals,  and 
nothing  certainly  could  have  been  more  elevating.  Our  singers 
and  orchestra  came  from  all  the  neighboring  villages  and  towns. 
It  was  true,  however,  that  a  few  good  singers  would  not  join 
us,  as  they  had  scruples  about  its  being  right  to  praise  God  in 
song  on  Sunday  nights. 

Our  great  good  fortune  in  this  undertaking  was  in  having  a 
thorough  musician,  Charles  Henry  Webb,  for  our  director.  Mr. 
Webb  was  the  son  of  Asa  Webb,  one  of  our  best  people,  who 
lived  in  the  old  Arnold  house,  now  the  home  of  the  Cowings. 
I  might  say  Mr.  Webb  was  a  conductor ;  his  whole  life  was 
devoted  to  music,  and  he  was  always  at  his  best  when  talking 
of  his  favorite  theme.  When  a  part  faltered  in  our  rehearsals, 
he  instantly  took  it  up  and  sang  it,  thus  showing  how  it  should 
be  done.  He  was  the  soul  and  inspiration  of  these  rehearsals. 
Mr.  Webb  now  sleeps  with  his  fathers  in  the  Old  North 
Cemetery. 

Our  first  vioUn  was  Mr.  George  Lincoln,  a  good  musician;  we 
were  fortunate  in  having  his  services,  for  he  had  studied  under 
the  best  masters  and  was  at  home  in  the  music  which  we  used. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  267 

A  young  man,  a  mere  boy,  Louis  E.  Tilden,  presided  at  the 
piano,  and  was  very  efficient.  His  part  was  never  missing. 
In  after-years  he  became  one  of  our  best  musicians,  and  a  fine 
organist,  but  to-day  he  is  numbered  with  the  choir  above. 

Leander  Curtis,  from  Abington,  played  the  double  bass 
viol,  and  his  coming  was  awaited  with  pleasure.  He  was  one 
of  the  few  skilled  players  in  our  orchestra,  and  a  companion 
of  mine  in  the  old  Weymouth  Band  twenty-five  years  before. 
Mr.  Curtis  had  made  a  study  of  his  instrument,  and  no  one 
about  here  excelled  him.  He  was  a  born  gentleman,  a  man 
whom  it  was  a  favor  as  well  as  a  pleasure  to  know.  On  his 
way  here  from  Abington  he  picked  up  Mr.  Lorin  Stetson,  an- 
other old  Band  associate,  whom  I  had  known  for  many  years. 
Mr.  Stetson  played  the  cornet,  having  had  a  large  experience 
with  that  instrument. 

Mr.  Curtis  brought  with  him  at  times  Mr.  Derby,  of  South 
Weymouth,  a  fine  clarinet  player ;  Henry  Kelley,  who  played 
the  second  violin,  and  Dr.  Saville,  a  good  'cello  player. 

From  East  Weymouth  we  awaited  the  team  that  brought 
William  Raymond,  David  Lincoln,  Samuel  Denton,  and  some- 
times our  finest  baritone  singer,  Frank  Porter ;  and  last,  but 
by  no  means  least,  Augustus  Tirrell. 

Mr.  Raymond  played  the  oboe  in  our  orchestra.  I  had 
known  him  many  years  before.  He  and  his  brother  Robert 
were  among  the  first  members  of  the  old  Band.  In  his  quiet, 
pleasant  ways,  Mr.  Raymond  resembled  Mr.  Curtis.  He  is 
still  living  (1906)  at  his  home  in  East  Weymouth. 

David  Lincoln  played  the  second  violin.  He  was  a  true 
lover  of  music,  and  it  was  his  pleasure  to  be  at  every  rehearsal, 
and  ours  to  greet  him  each  week. 

Samuel  Denton  played  the  trombone.  I  had  known  him 
some  years  before.  When  going  to  New  York  on  the  Sound 
steamers,  I  would  meet  him  playing  in  Jim  Fiske's  fine  Band. 
Mr.  Denton  was  an  expert  on   his  instrument,  few  excelling 


268  Reminiscences. 

him.  Frank  Porter  was  one  of  our  solo  singers,  and  who  ever 
sang  better  than  he  ? 

To  the  writer,  I  think  Augustus  Tirrell  was  the  most  inter- 
esting member  of  this  orchestra.  He  played  the  viola.  In 
truth,  I  was  always  afraid  of  him  ;  it  seemed  as  if  his  eye  was 
always  upon  me,  watching  for  a  discordant  sound.  As  I 
remember  him,  he  seemed  the  most  enthusiastic  and  the  most 
interested  of  any  one  in  the  orchestra.  He  not  only  played 
his  own  part,  but  appeared  to  keep  his  eye  on  every  other. 

From  Hingham  sometimes  came  Mr.  George  Lincoln's  father, 
who  played  the  flute,  and  Mr.  Morris  Whiton,  who  was  a  fine 
singer  and  was  always  welcome. 

Another,  whose  coming  from  Hingham  gave  all  much  pleas- 
ure, was  Mrs.  Chauncey  Gushing,  formerly  Miss  Sarah  Loud, 
of  East  Weymouth.  I  can  see  the  smile  with  which  our  con- 
ductor always  greeted  Mrs.  Gushing,  for  they  were  kindred 
spirits  in  music. 

From  South  Weymouth  came,  sometimes,  Miss  Annie  Dean. 
Whoever  heard  her  sing  "  He  was  despised  and  rejected  of 
men,"  will  never  forget  it. 

From  Quincy  came  Mr.  Barker  and  Mr.  Webb,  a  nephew  of 
our  conductor.  Mr.  Barker  played  the  'cello,  and  in  after-years 
I  met  him  in  many  yacht  races  of  the  "  Opeeche  vs.  Posy." 

From  Braintree  came  Nathaniel  Hunt,  whose  father  played 
the  double  bass  in  the  old  choir  seventy  years  ago.  With 
him  came  Abijah  Allen  and  his  two  sons.  My  good  friend 
and  relative,  Mr.  Hunt,  attempted  the  French  horn  in  our 
orchestra,  but  its  difficulties  he  never  overcame.  Sixty  years 
ago  I  played  with  Mr.  Allen  in  our  Weymouth  Band.  He 
sometimes  attempted  the  oboe,  and  once  played  that  instru- 
ment in  the  "Seasons,"  where  the  grasshopper  comes  in,  and 
his  solo  brought  down  the  house. 

The  President  of  our  society,  Elias  Richards,  was  at  this 
time  quite  an  old  man.     He  was  a  talented  musician  in  his 


Miscellaneous  Events.  269 

younger  days,  and  was  an  early  member  of  the  old  Weymouth 
Band.  He  also  taught  a  singing  school  for  years.  His  wife, 
formerly  Elizabeth  Hunt,  was  the  finest  soprano  we  have  ever 
had  in  our  village. 

In  the  early  autumn  Mr.  Richards  called  together  a  com- 
mittee to  arrange  the  work  for  the  winter.  They  were 
Richard  A.  Hunt,  Francis  H.  Tilden,  Dana  Smith,  George 
Lincoln,  Captain  Andrews  Lane,  my  brother  N.  F.  T.  Hunt, 
my  son  Russell,  and  myself.  We  all  seemed  like  boys  com- 
pared with  Mr.  Richards,  who  was  always  cool,  quiet  and 
self-possessed. 

There  were  as  many  minds  concerning  the  music  to  be  used 
as  there  were  people  in  the  old  office.  One  thought  nothing 
so  good  as  "  Elijah ;  "  another  thought  there  was  no  music 
like  the  "  Creation  "  or  "  Moses  in  Egypt,"  and  so  on.  Finally 
everything  would  be  harmonized,  Mr.  Richards  saying  but 
little,  yet  he  evidently  held  the  helm  and  guided  the  craft. 

Richard  A.  Hunt  was,  long  before  this  time,  a  fine  musician 
and  led  the  choir  in  the  Union  Church.  Francis  H,  Tilden 
was  another  of  the  good  singers  in  this  choir,  and  had  a  large 
experience  as  a  singer  and  teacher.  Although  more  than 
eighty  years  of  age,  he  is  still  interested  in  music,  and  is  one 
of  the  few  living  who  can  talk  with  me  about  the  affairs  of 
the  olden  times.  Darius  Smith  came  from  musical  stock. 
He  and  I  were  boys  together,  but  I  saw  little  of  him  until  we 
were  old  men. 

The  next  one  of  whom  I  wish  to  speak  is  Captain  Andrews 
Lane,  who  did  more  to  hold  the  Choral  Society  together  than 
either  of  the  others  whom  I  have  mentioned,  and  was  inter- 
ested in  finding  new  members. 

My  brother,  N.  F.  T.  Hunt,  was  a  musical  enthusiast,  his 
favorite  instrument  being  the  bassoon,  on  which  he  became 
very  proficient.  He  played  in  a  Boston  orchestra  as  well  as 
in   Weymouth.     My  sons,  Russell  and  James,  were  amateur 


270  Reminiscences. 

players  on  the  'cello  and  violin.     Last  in  this  orchestra  was 
myself,  playing  the  French  horn. 

Among  our  good  chorus  singers  were  the  late  Theodore  P. 
Willey,  William  Blanchard,  George  E.  Porter,  Mrs.  Auburn 
Sterling,  Miss  Susan  Richards,  and  Mrs.  Eleanor  Holmes. 


THE    GREAT    SHIP    CANAL. 

Weymouth,  February  i,  1925. 

Yesterday  was  a  great  day  for  Weymouth.  It  was  the  open- 
ing of  the  Great  Ship  Canal  from  the  Monatiquot  to  Narragan- 
set  Bay.  What  a  strange  sight  to  see  the  procession  of  vessels 
of  all  kinds,  including  steamers,  steam  and  electric  launches, 
sailing  vessels  and  tow-boats,  making  their  way  through  this 
great  and  wonderful  waterway !  Now  they  pass  the  great  hills 
and  sail  by  the  deep  valleys,  through  Randolph  and  Brockton, 
Bridgewater  and  Taunton. 

From  the  time  the  first  pick  picked  and  the  first  shovel 
shoveled  in  this  gigantic  waterway,  what  a  change  has  come 
over  the  little  village  of  Weymouth  Landing.  Those  who  had 
for  years  been  land  poor  were  now  land  rich.  What  numbers 
of  people  have  recently  come  to  our  borders  to  have  a  share  in 
the  prosperous  times  now  before  us  !  Already  steps  have  been 
taken  to  form  the  Monatiquot  International  Trust  Company, 
so  much  needed  to  take  the  place  of  the  old  Union  National 
Bank  which  became  extinct  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  New 
blood  has  come  into  the  place,  and  with  it  new  capital. 

Weymouth  of  the  past  is  gone  —  the  Weymouth  that  we 
read  little  of  in  history  except  its  poor  beginning  in  1623.  The 
Weymouth  of  the  ill-fated  Weston  Colony,  of  the  unfortunate 
Phineas  Pratt  travelling  through  the  trackless  forest  to  Plym- 
outh in  mid-winter,  and  of  doughty  Captain  Miles  Standish 
coming  here  to  slay  the   savages ;    of   these  things   history 


Miscellaneous  Events.  271 

always  tells  us,  and  then  nothing  more  until  Butler  gave  us 
his  Hudibras  story  of  poor  deluded  Weymouth. 

Some  ten  years  ago  the  city  of  Quincy  became  a  part  of 
Greater  Boston,  and  Weymouth  as  a  suburb  has  recently  had 
built  a  large  number  of  fine  mansions.  Real  estate  has  had 
a  great  boom.  North  Weymouth,  some  twenty  years  ago  a 
quiet  little  village,  is  already  considering  the  advantages  of 
annexation  to  Greater  Boston. 

No  one  who  left  Weymouth  twenty  years  ago  would,  upon 
returning,  recognize  our  Landing.  Great  storehouses  have 
been  built  for  the  cargoes  en  route  from  foreign  lands.  As  a 
commercial  centre  Weymouth  will  supply  all  the  South  Shore 
towns.  Our  wharves  are  much  larger  than  they  were  seventy 
years  ago,  before  the  days  of  the  Old  Colony  railroad.  Wash- 
ington Square  has  completely  changed.  The  old  buildings 
that  traveled  from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other  are  all 
gone,  excepting  the  old  Arnold  house  which  was  but  recently 
purchased  by  the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution  and 
fitted  up  with  relics  of  the  olden  times. 

Prosperity  has  come  at  last  to  the  old  town  where  years  ago 
some  of  our  streets  seemed  almost  deserted ;  from  such  pros- 
perity families  that  were  running  out  are  now  on  the  increase, 
a  condition  impossible  in  the  poor  old  days  when  work  was 
scarce  and  wages  were  low.  What  a  happy  change  is  this,  for 
had  nothing  come  to  improve  our  business  conditions,  the  old 
families  would  have  completely  gone  out,  and  a  strange  race 
would  have  come  in  to  occupy  their  places. 

The  old  Town  hall,  built  more  than  seventy  years  ago  was 
recently  burned,  and  now  it  is  proposed  to  build  a  grand  one 
in  the  business  centre,  worthy  of  the  town.  Our  young  people 
desire  to  make  a  city  out  of  the  old  town,  but  from  the  strong 
conservative  element  this  movement  has  made  little  headway. 
The  schools  that  were  so  full  of  "  fads  "  twenty  years  ago  re- 
main the  same,  except  that   new  "fads"  have  been  devised 


272  Reminiscences. 

to  take  the  place  of  the  forgotten  "  fads "  of  twenty  years 
ago. 

The  churches  have  little  changed.  They  still  struggle  along. 
The  Episcopalians  have  recently  erected  a  beautiful  stone 
church  —  an  ornament  to  the  village  and  a  monument  to  the 
unremitting  labors  of  its  Rector. 

Of  the  millions  required  to  build  this  Great  Ship  Canal,  a 
good  part  stopped  on  its  borders,  and  where  there  had  been 
wild  pastures  and  deforested  woodlands  we  now  find  many 
pretty  villages,  with  here  and  there  a  new  church  spire.  As 
the  great  flotilla  sailed  along  yesterday,  it  passed  through  a 
country  changed  as  if  by  enchantment.  Between  the  towns 
of  Holbrook  and  Randolph  (already  cities  in  expectation)  the 
procession  moved  on  to  the  great  city  of  Brockton,  which  has 
more  than  doubled  in  wealth  and  population  since  the  incep- 
tion of  this  waterway.  Twenty  years  ago  a  Governor  of  the 
Commonwealth  was  chosen  from  this  city.  At  that  time  the 
route  for  this  waterway  had  been  surveyed,  and  after  being 
dropped  for  a  few  years  was  suddenly  revived  and  so  fully  con- 
sidered as  to  meet  with  legislative  and  popular  approval,  giving 
new  life  to  the  project  which  to-day  is  accomplished. 

Within  the  past  twenty  years  Brockton  has  not  been  idle. 
Wharves  and  docks  have  been  built,  great  coal  pockets  and 
immense  storehouses  have  been  constructed,  the  United  States 
Government  has  erected  a  fine  custom  house,  and  declared  the 
city  to  be  a  port  of  entry,  ridding  the  place  of  dependence 
upon  the  railroad  as  in  the  past. 

Ships,  now  on  the  way  from  foreign  ports  with  cargoes  to 
fill  the  great  storehouses,  and  barges  loaded  with  coal  from 
Philadelphia,  are  bound  for  the  port  of  Brockton.  Hereafter 
instead  of  bringing  coal  by  the  railroads  to  Brockton,  the  cars 
will  carry  it  from  Brockton.  Coal  will  cost  less  delivered  in 
Brockton  than  in  Greater  Boston,  where  the  carting  is  over 
long  distances. 


Miscellaneous  Events,  273 

Taunton,  once  a  quiet,  sleepy  city,  has  now  waked  up  to  its 
commercial  and  industrial  importance,  and  like  our  own  Land- 
ing, is  enjoying  increased  prosperity  and  business  activity. 
We  owe  all  this  to  the  Great  Ship  Canal  which  has  so  recently 
come  to  us. 

OUR    STATE    FLOWER. 

My  friend,  a  clergyman,  recently  handed  me  a  paper.  I 
said,  "  What  is  this  ?  "  and  he  told  me  that  the  women  of  the 
numberless  clubs,  of  one  of  which  he  is  the  President,  want 
the  State  to  have  a  floral  emblem  as  other  States.  On  read- 
ing his  paper  I  learned  that  the  mountain  laurel  {Kalmia  lati- 
folid)  was  to  be  the  chosen  one. 

Now  why  is  the  Kalmia  taken  for  a  State  emblem  "i  Per- 
haps for  its  pretty  name,  for  there  is  not  one  bit  of  sentiment 
in  the  plant  as  there  is  in  the  rose  and  lilac.  It  is  nearly  an 
absolute  stranger  in  our  State,  so  much  so  that  if  taken  from 
my  garden  and  shown  in  our  High  school  it  is  doubtful  if  one 
pupil  could  call  the  plant  by  name. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  Kalmia,  the  Cornus  Florida  and  the 
beautiful  holly,  could  be  found  in  their  native  haunts.  The 
Kalmia  was  found  on  the  outskirts  of  Weymouth  near  the 
border  of  the  towns  of  Abington  and  Randolph,  but  was  always 
a  shrub  that  had  to  be  looked  for  carefully.  The  Cornus 
Florida,  with  its  fine  foliage  and  beautiful  flowers,  one  could 
often  find  growing  in  its  glory  the  last  of  May.  The  glossy- 
leaved  holly  was  a  common  plant,  and  nothing  more  beau- 
tiful. 

Memorial  Day  had  not  then  come,  neither  did  our  folks  ob- 
serve Christmas.  Unfortunately  for  the  Kalmia  and  the  Cornus 
Florida  they  bloom  just  in  time  for  Memorial  Day,  at  which 
season  the  woods  and  pastures  are  full  of  boys,  girls,  women 
and  men,  despoiling  and  destroying  these  shrubs,  from  their 


274  Reminiscences. 

misfortune  of  blooming  just  when  flowers  are  wanted  to  deco- 
rate the  soldiers'  graves.  It  is  the  same  at  Christmas  ;  the 
pastures  have  been  so  despoiled  of  holly  that  it  is  hard  to  find 
the  beautiful  shrub  where  once  it  was  so  plentiful. 

Now  where  do  the  women  see  this  beautiful  Kalmia .?  Cer- 
taily  not  in  our  pastures  ;  perhaps  at  the  arboretums  where,  I 
am  told,  there  are  many  beautiful  specimens  in  the  season  of 
bloom.  Where  have  these  fine  shrubs  come  from .?  I  will  tell 
you.  The  mountain  laurel  {Kalmia  latifolia)  is  found  in  its 
glory  on  the  mountains  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia.  There 
these  shrubs  cover  the  mountains  which  are  crowned  with  their 
glow  in  early  spring.  Here  is  also  the  home  of  the  Rhododen- 
dron catawbiense.  These  shrubs  are  brought  from  the  South 
in  carload  lots  and  transplanted  to  our  arboretums  and  to  the 
great  estates  about  Boston  and  New  York.  They  are  for  the 
gardens  of  the  rich  and  prosperous,  as  they  cost  much  money. 

My  best  plants  have  come  from  Anthony  Waterer,  Woking 
in  Surrey,  England.  A  good  plant  of  Kalmia  or  Rhododen- 
dron will  cost  from  75  cents  to  $5.00.  Now  how  many  of 
our  good  people  can  afford  to  buy  the  Kalmia  shrubs .?  I  have 
some  one  hundred  plants,  coming  from  the  South  mountains. 
They  are,  however,  very  slow  growers,  and  always  seem  home- 
sick from  their  long  distance  from  their  native  home. 

Now  I  will  tell  of  a  New  England  flower  that  all  know. 
Once  on  a  time,  when  going  down  on  the  South  Shore  through 
the  old  colonial  towns,  I  came  to  a  cross  road  where  was  a 
burying  ground.  Fenced  in  by  a  rough  stone  wall  in  the  form 
of  an  old-fashioned  coffin  I  distinctly  remember  the  place.  Op- 
posite stood  a  tall  Lombardy  poplar,  its  half  alive,  half  dead 
limbs  pointing  heavenward.  At  once  I  knew  that  this  old  tree 
was  planted  many  years  before,  and  that  it  came  from  across 
the  ocean. 

I  climbed  over  the  wall  and,  as  I  expected,  found  an  old 
cellar  overgrown  by  wild  roses,  and  in  the  centre  a  great  pile 


Miscellaneous  Events.  275 

of  bricks,  the  remains  of  the  old  chimney.  I  rehabilitated  in 
fancy  the  old  house  so  long  ago  standing  there.  I  saw  in 
those  bricks  the  old  chimney,  the  great  fire-place,  the  oven  at 
the  back,  the  long  crane,  and  iron  tea  kettle  singing.  I  saw 
the  old  settle  with  its  high  back,  the  father  and  mother  watch- 
ing the  children  play  on  the  hearth,  when  the  house  was  new. 

In  time  the  children  grow  up ;  the  sons  perhaps  follow  the 
sea ;  the  daughters,  grown  up,  find  mates  near  home  and  live 
about  the  old  homestead.  One  son  stays  at  home ;  he  takes 
care  of  the  old  folks  and  has  the  old  homestead  in  the  end, 
and  so  on  for  generations.  Walking  back  of  the  old  cellar  I 
saw  a  clump  of  bushes,  and  here  was  the  old  well  long  since 
forgotten.  There  was  no  well  curb,  no  well  sweep  pointing 
to  the  heavens,  "the  old  oaken  bucket"  no  longer  hung  in 
the  well. 

Just  back  of  the  well  was  a  great  bush,  beautiful  to  behold. 
It  was  planted  when  the  house,  so  long  gone,  was  new.  The 
old  bush  saw  the  happy  bride  and  bridegroom  come  to  the 
house.  It  saw  the  children  come,  grow  up,  going  here  and 
there,  some  on  the  sea,  some  on  the  shore ;  saw  the  happy 
bride  and  bridegroom  grow  old  and  sit  on  the  settle  by  the  fire, 
thinking  of  the  days  of  the  past  never  to  return. 

All  this  the  old  bush  by  the  well  witnessed,  and  more ;  in 
time  the  old  minister  came,  and  the  neighbors  gathered,  and 
the  little  funeral  procession  walked  sadly  across  the  street  to 
the  quaint  burying  ground;  —  and  finally  when  all  were  gone 
and  the  old  house  had  fallen  into  decay,  there  stood  the  bush 
as  fresh  and  seemingly  as  young  as  one  hundred  fifty  years 
and  more  ago. 

It  has  taken  a  long  time  to  complete  the  incidents  here  re- 
lated, but  the  end  is  worthy  of  the  years,  for  the  bush  is  none 
other  than  the  one  that  grew  at  our  grandmother's  door  —  one 
that  has  gathered  around  it  more  associations  of  the  past  than 
any  other  flower  —  one  that  we  all  remember  in  our  childhood 


276  Reminiscences. 

as  standing  by  the  old  well  near  the  back  door.    It  is  the  beau- 
tiful old  lilac.     This  should  be  our  State  flower. 


CIVIL    SERVICE    IN    UTOPIA. 

Many  years  ago  came  Charles  Francis  Adams  from  Quincy, 
and  with  him  Carl  Schurz,  who  gave  a  lecture  on  Civil  Service 
Reform,  in  the  old  Union  Church  by  the  river.  I  remember 
that  the  house  was  well  filled,  so  many  being  eager  to  hear 
Schurz,  and  again  were  they  glad  when  he  finished. 

This  lecture  was  as  dry  as  dry  could  be  ;  there  were  no  flow- 
ers of  rhetoric,  but  the  lecturer  struck  the  bed-rock  of  the 
matter  with  cold,  hard  facts  that  no  one  could  dispute.  The 
point  was  that  a  town  officer  should  hold  his  office  year  after 
year,  unless  removed  for  cause,  the  same  as  the  employer  in 
business  deals  with  his  employees. 

Now  in  Utopia  things  were  done  this  way  ;  before  taking 
town  office  one  must  pass  the  Civil  Service  examination.  The 
Town  Clerk  must  know  all  pertaining  to  rules,  and  give  a  spec- 
imen of  his  penmanship.  The  Town  Treasurer  was  given  long 
columns  of  figures  to  add  quickly  and  correctly.  The  Select- 
men were  put  through  a  course  of  history  of  the  town,  and  re- 
quired to  give  the  lay  of  the  roads.  Here  they  were  called 
"  Fathers,"  for  they  served  to  father  all  things  in  town  except 
the  babies.  As  they  had  charge  of  the  town's  poor,  they  were 
required  to  pass  an  examination  on  different  kinds  of  food, 
what  was  good  for  the  poor  and  what  was  bad.  There  were 
questions  that  had  to  be  answered,  telling  the  weight  of  the 
"porker"  in  the  sty  and  how  much  he  will  dress  off;  then 
they  had  to  tell  the  number  of  hens  required  to  produce  1,000 
eggs  in  a  certain  time,  and  how  much  hay  can  be  produced 
from  one  acre  of  land.  These  that  I  have  enumerated  are 
not  one-half  of  what  was  required  from  these  Fathers  of 
Utopia. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  277 

But  there  was  in  Utopia  a  more  pleasant  side,  for  each  Se- 
lectman in  addition  to  holding  the  office  for  life  had  one  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year.  This  seemed  just  what  we  should  have 
in  Weymouth. 

Then  again  no  one  was  to  apply  for  examination  to  this 
office  of  Selectman  who  was  engaged  in  any  personal  business 
of  his  own.  This  caused  some  trouble  in  Utopia  from  the  fact 
that  when  this  law  came  into  effect,  many  of  those  holding 
office  had  business  of  their  own  ;  but  it  was  finally  arranged 
that  those  already  in  the  town  employment  were  to  continue 
as  usual,  but  that  all  coming  to  fill  their  places  must  comply 
with  the  law.  In  the  end  all  were  in  the  Civil  Service  list, 
and  thus  it  was  with  all  the  minor  offices. 

The  police,  or  rather  the  Chief,  was  required  in  his  exami- 
nation to  know  when  a  man  was  drunk  and  when  sober,  and  to 
tell  what  the  intoxicant  was  —  rum,  whiskey,  Sanford's  ginger, 
or  "stretch."  Now  this  seems  trivial,  but  it  was  necessary, 
for  when  the  police  scent  whiskey  or  rum,  they  must  go  on 
the  scent  as  a  dog  goes  for  a  woodchuck.  Beware  of  one 
on  whom  it  is  found  ! 

From  what  I  have  told  of  life  in  Utopia,  one  can  see  the 
great  advantages  of  this  Civil  Service.  When  you  have  a  good 
man  in  office,  keep  him  there,  not  for  one  year  but  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  get  rid  of  the  petty  squabbling  which  we  have 
every  year  in  our  caucuses.  Those  holding  town  office  to-day 
are  just  as  good  men  as  those  who  want  the  offices,  so  keep 
the  ins  in,  as  long  as  they  are  of  use. 

In  Utopia,  no  one  being  eligible  for  office  until  of  chloro- 
form age,  the  schools  were  well  cared  for.  The  Civil  Service 
examinations  required  applicants  for  the  office  of  School  Com- 
mittee to  answer  questions  taken  from  the  books  used  by  the 
pupils.  As  with  the  Selectmen,  there  was  an  allowance  made 
for  the  members  of  the  old  School  Board,  but  it  was  expected 
that  those  already  on  the  board  before  the  law  came  into  effect 


2/8  Reminiscences. 

would  study  up,  so  that  in  course  of  time  they  would  be  as  able 
as  the  scholars  to  pass  the  examination  required. 

The  examination  of  the  Board  of  Health  in  Utopia  related 
particularly  to  their  nasal  organs,  and  the  applicant  himself 
had  to  conform  to  printed  rules  required  by  the  town,  for,  if 
not,  how  could  he  judge  his  neighbor  ?  All  these  matters  were 
well  considered  in  the  town  of  Utopia.  This  Board  of  Health 
is  a  matter  not  to  be  turned  off  lightly. 

Now  in  Weymouth  we  have  no  sewer  system,  and  the  popu- 
lation is  increasing.  Where  I  cut  ice  from  the  pond  back  of 
my  house  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  pond  is  now  a  cess-pool 
from  the  number  of  closets  draining  into  it.  Then  again  a 
matter  for  the  Board  of  Health  to  attend  to  should  be  the 
filthy  books  circulating  around  from  one  family  to  another 
which  the  school  children  use.  Meeting  a  boy  of  the  High 
school  who  was  taking  up  a  new  study,  I  took  the  book  he 
was  to  study  from  his  hand  and  found  it  full  of  filth.  I  said 
to  him,  "  Throw  the  filthy  thing  over  the  wall,  for  it  is  full  of 
all  kinds  of  disease."  Still,  they  tell  of  an  epidemic  that  comes 
each  year.     Why  not  ?     There  is  everything  to  encourage  it. 

CONCERNING    DOGS. 

A  short  time  ago,  I  took  up  my  paper  and  this  is  what  I 
read  :  "  A  great,  grand  Newfoundland  dog  was  given  a  torpedo 
in  his  food,  which  exploded  in  his  mouth,  and  the  poor  dog  ran 
about  crying  in  his  agony  for  help.  Again  the  cry  of  "  Mad 
dog "  was  made,  and  about  one  hundred  men  chased  and 
hounded  the  poor  dog  to  death.  Had  one  of  those  men  fallen 
from  the  end  of  Long  wharf,  that  dog  would  have  jumped  in 
and  saved  the  man's  life,  not  even  inquiring  whether  he  were 
Jew  or  Gentile. 

It  matters  little  what  dog  one  has,  whether  his  tail  curls  so 
that   his  hind  legs  are  taken  from   the  ground,  showing  his 


Miscellaneous  Events.  279 

illegitimacy,  or  hangs  straight  to  the  ground,  showing  his  legi- 
timacy. The  dog  loves  his  master,  and  the  master  who  does 
not  love  his  dog  is  a  brute. 

I  am  sometimes  informed  that  people  on  inquiring  for  Mr. 
Hunt  are  told,  "  You  find  a  man  with  a  big  dog  by  his  side, 
and  he  is  the  man  you  want  to  see."  Named  after  Dr.  John 
Brown's  famous  dog  that  we  have  all  read  about,  my  dog  is 
Rab. 

A  thousand  years  ago  or  more,  there  lived  in  the  Hartz 
mountains  a  dog  named  Rab.  He  was  called  a  mastiff  from 
his  masterful  ways,  and  it  is  told  of  him  that  in  his  native 
haunts  he  was  the  equal  of  the  lion.  In  time  Rab  came  out 
of  his  native  forest  into  the  world,  and  we  hear  of  him  in  Nor- 
mandy, the  land  of  the  Northmen,  and  when  William  landed 
at  Hastings  with  his  horde,  my  dog's  ancestors  were  there,  and 
when  King  Harold  was  slain,  Rab,  the  ancient,  lapped  his  poor 
dead  face  in  commiseration  of  his  sad  fate.  Now  my  Rab  is 
a  mastiff  with  no  more  English  blood  in  his  veins  than  had 
Queen  Victoria,  not  a  drop ;  and  if  you  care  to  follow  out  the 
lines  of  history  you  will  see  that  Queen  Victoria's  are  paral- 
leled by  my  dog  Rab. 

'Tis  sweet  to  hear  the  watch-dog's  honest  bark 

Bay  deep-mouthed  welcome,  as  we  draw  near  home ; 

'Tis  sweet  to  know  there  is  an  eye  will  mark 
Our  coming,  and  look  brighter  when  we  come. 

Yes,  my  Rab  walks  by  my  side ;  I  talk  to  him  ;  he  does  not 
answer,  but  still  I  know  well  that  he  understands  what  I  am 
saying  from  the  wag  of  his  tail  and  the  gleam  in  his  eye.  My 
dog  has  a  far  more  loving  soul  than  a  certain  old  minister  of 
seventy  years  ago. 

Seventy  years  ago  (about  1835)  the  old  minister.  Rev.  Jonas 
Perkins,  exchanged  pulpits  one  Sunday  with  the  minister  of 


28o  Reminiscences. 

the  Old  North  Church  —  it  was  the  afternoon  service  —  when 
suddenly  word  came  into  the  church,  "  A  horse  is  cast  out- 
side." At  that  time  there  were  hitching  posts  all  about  the 
church.  A  number  of  people  left,  to  help  the  poor  animal 
out  of  his  trouble.  The  minister  in  the  pulpit  stopped  his  dis- 
course, looked  up  and  said  by  his  look,  "  What  is  all  this  need- 
less trouble .?  A  horse  cast."  Looking  about  the  church  to 
the  congregation  he  said,  "  The  horse  has  no  soul."  Yes,  the 
horse  had  no  soul,  but  he  had  carried  the  family  to  church  for 
years,  and  ploughed  the  furrows  for  the  corn,  faithfully  and 
honestly ;  and  should  he  not  be  assisted  in  his  unfortunate 
condition .? 

Years  afterwards,  it  was  my  custom  to  go  to  town  each  day, 
and  one  night,  just  as  the  train  was  leaving,  a  little  terrier  dog 
began  running  around,  barking  and  crying.  His  master  had 
gone  on  the  train  before,  and  the  dog  was  hunting  in  vain  for 
him.  What  happened }  Some  one  cried,  "  Mad  dog,"  and 
can  you  believe  it,  about  fifty  men  rushed  after  this  poor  little 
friendless  dog  and  kicked  and  stamped  him  to  death.  Alas ! 
man's  inhumanity ! 

MEMORIAL    DAY. 

On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round, 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead.  —  Theodore  O'Hara. 

Two  years  ago  on  Memorial  Day  the  writer  went  to  the  vil- 
lage cemetery,  and  securing  a  place  of  vantage  awaited  the 
coming  of  the  old  veterans.  Strange  to  say  he  never  before 
had  witnessed  the  happenings  of  Memorial  Day. 

As  I  waited,  I  heard  from  the  distance  the  music  of  the 
band,  and  soon  came  the  old  soldiers  (many  more  than  there 
are  to-day)  —  many  that  1  knew  years  ago,  and  how  pleasant 


Miscellaneous  Events.  281 

to  grasp  and  shake  hands.  Next  to  the  old  soldiers  the  Band 
was  the  great  attraction  to  me ;  the  music  that  rolled  out  so 
heavy  with  its  grand  bass  was  just  suited  to  the  occasion. 
The  whole  proceeding  of  the  day  impressed  me  much.  In 
1904  all  was  as  the  year  before,  aside  from  the  music  of  the 
Band,  which  was  not  as  good. 

Last  year  (1905)  I  got  sadly  mixed;  not  reading  our  local 
paper  carefully,  I  did  not  get  the  order  of  the  day,  which  was 
changed  from  that  of  the  year  before.  In  the  morning  I 
started  for  the  cemetery,  but  going  by  the  Baptist  Church  I 
heard  music  from  below,  down  the  street.  Noticing  people 
waiting  around  Lincoln  Square,  I  stopped  to  await  the  coming. 
Well,  in  a  little  time  the  head  of  the  soldiers,  as  I  supposed, 
came  in  sight.  Now  what  did  my  astonished  eyes  see  but  the 
village  school-master  leading  off  all  the  school  children,  with 
a  flag  stuck  in  his  hat.  How  I  would  like  to  write  as  funny 
as  I  could.  This  was  the  only  comic  thing  of  the  day.  To 
be  serious,  the  old  soldier  was  obliterated  in  that  crowd  of  chil- 
dren. From  their  number  I  could  not  get  near  the  soldiers, 
and  so  went  home  to  dinner. 

Learning  that  my  friend  Edwin  Clapp  was  to  open  his  Me- 
morial building  and  grounds  to  the  veterans,  I  walked  over  with 
my  dog  Rab  to  see  the  goings  on,  and  a  pleasant  sight  it  was. 
It  was  a  pity  that  he  who  created  this  beautiful  spot  could  not 
have  been  present,  because  of  sickness.  On  this  day  there 
were  no  restrictions,  Evangelical  or  non-Evangelical,  one  was 
as  good  as  another,  and  all  were  happy.  When  I  came  to  the 
field,  the  soldiers  were  getting  ready  for  their  grand  dress 
parade.  Wishing  to  get  as  near  as  possible,  I  asked  the  good 
policeman  if  I  could  go  on  the  grounds.  "  Yes,  if  you  won't 
get  in  the  way,  Mr.  Hunt,"  said  he.  I  went  out  on  the  parade 
ground,  and  as  I  stood  there  with  my  big  dog  Rab,  my  mind 
went  back  to  the  time  when  I  went  soldiering,  some  fifty  years 
ago,  with  the  old  Band. 


282  Reminiscences. 

The  Weymouth  Band  then  became  the  Fourth  Regiment 
Band  under  Col.  Packard,  Lieut.  Col.  Ames  of  North  Easton, 
and  Adjutant  Frank  Curtis  of  Quincy.  When  we  received 
word  from  Col.  Packard  that  we  had  become  the  Regimental 
Band,  I  tell  you  we  were  much  set  up.  Each  and  all  felt  that 
something  had  come  into  their  life  to  be  proud  of.  All  walked 
with  a  martial  air. 

Now  this  was  no  sinecure.  A  lot  of  work  was  to  be  done 
to  sustain  and  to  add  to  our  many  laurels.  The  dress  parade 
was  our  first  study,  for  in  the  old  time  muster  this  was  the 
grand  ending  of  the  day.  To  get  ready  for  dress  parade  the 
band  then  met  in  Amazon  hall,  but  to  get  room  we  would  go 
to  the  front  of  the  old  Union  Church  by  the  river,  and  there 
form  in  line,  with  an  imaginary  Fourth  Regiment  along  the 
street. 

The  order  was  this :  The  Band  wheeled  out  from  the  right, 
gave  the  "  cheers,"  first,  third  and  fifth ;  then  taking  up  a 
waltz,  it  marched  slowly  down  before  the  regiment,  then 
changing  front  returned  in  quick  time,  ending  with  three 
"cheers." 

At  the  time  I  went  soldiering  this  was  the  way  on  the  last 
day  of  the  muster,  after  the  final  dress  parade.  As  I  remem- 
ber, there  were  ten  companies,  ten  drummers,  ten  fifers  and 
the  Weymouth  Band.  The  drummers  were  in  front,  the  fifers 
next,  then  the  Band.  When  the  order  to  march  came,  what 
fun.  The  drummers,  as  I  remember,  were  continually  nursing 
their  drums,  snapping  the  snares,  loosening  or  tightening  the 
heads,  and  from  their  actions  seemingly  wanting  to  draw  atten- 
tion to  themselves  for  their  superior  qualifications.  The  fifers, 
jealous  of  the  drummers,  now  and  then  sent  out  a  trill  on  a 
high  note,  and  so  it  went  on  in  this  Fourth  Regiment  of  the 
Massachusetts  Volunteers. 

All  were  mustered  together,  drums,  fifes  and  Band,  and 
playing  "The  Girl  I  left  behind  me,"  off  the  field  we  went. 


Miscellaneous  Events.  283 

The  drummer  tried  to  beat  his  neighbor,  the  fifer  to  outwind 
his  associate,  and  the  Band  followed  so  proudly  —  yes,  looking 
down  on  those  who  worked  so  honestly  and  faithfully  with 
drum  and  fife.  As  I  stood  on  Mr.  Clapp's  grounds  all  this 
came  to  my  mind.  I  saw  this  dress  parade,  but  more  clearly 
the  grander  one  of  other  days.  The  pleasant  time  to-day  was 
when  the  old  soldiers  broke  ranks  and  I  had  a  chance  to  shake 
their  hands,  for  I  seemed  to  know  them  all. 

Why  have  Memorial  Day  for  the  soldiers  and  all  the  people 
come  on  the  same  day  }  The  soldiers  ought  to  have  this  day 
to  themselves.  How  is  it }  To  get  the  flowers  that  decorate 
the  soldiers'  graves,  the  pastures  are  searched,  and  the  little 
baskets  filled  with  anything.  The  sentiment  is  all  right,  but 
not  the  beauty. 

This  is  what  I  saw  on  Memorial  Day.  First,  there  came 
the  baskets  for  the  old  soldiers,  then  came  others  to  decorate 
the  graves  of  their  friends.  The  beautiful  flowers  they  brought 
from  the  greenhouse  outrivaled  those  of  the  soldiers  in  the  dis- 
play they  made.  This  relates  in  no  way  to  the  old  veteran. 
And  his  basketful,  —  how  small  it  seems. 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say  Memorial  Day  should  be  kept 
intact  for  the  veterans.  Decoration  Day  should  be  made  an- 
other occasion  for  the  public ;  leave  the  school  children  and 
all  else  foreign  out  on  Memorial  Day.  Every  year  will  be 
more  interesting  until  the  last  soldier  parades  alone,  carrying 
the  National  flag,  and  when  he  dies,  may  he  go  to  his  last 
resting  place  as  quietly  as  one  of  his  comrades  that  I  saw 
borne  to  his  grave  some  years  ago.  As  I  looked  out  on  the 
street,  I  saw  this  old  soldier  carried  to  his  burial  with  a  soli- 
tary companion  following,  bearing  the  American  flag,  "  Not 
a  drum  was  heard,  nor  a  funeral  note,"  as  the  old  soldier  was 
carried  to  his  last  home.  I  attended  the  funeral  of  Daniel 
Webster  and  other  great  men  whom  I  have  forgotten,  but  this 
event   I   shall  always  remember.     No  flowers,  no  clergyman. 


284  Reminiscences. 

no  orator  to  extol  virtues  never  possessed,  —  all  was  so  simple, 
so  honest,  so  true. 

"  Mine  eyes  have  seen  the  glory  of  the  coming  of  the 
Lord." 

ABOUT    ROSES. 

1 

I  have  bought  all  my  roses  at  auction ;  they  have  been 
imported  from  Holland,  and  are  sold  in  the  spring  and  fall  in 
great  quantities  by  McCarthy  &  Co.,  Hawley  street,  Boston. 
The  plants  are  one  year  old,  and  bring  from  ;$8  to  j^io  per 
hundred,  coming  in  bunches  of  ten  plants.  I  have  found  it 
better  to  buy  the  plants  in  the  fall  and  bed  them  in,  covering 
them  root  and  branch  with  earth.  They  will  come  up  in  the 
spring  fresh  and  green.  The  roses  are  all  budded  on  hardy 
stocks,  and  the  budded  part  must  be  planted  fully  six  inches 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Have  the  ground  made 
ready  in  the  fall  by  digging  at  least  two  feet  deep,  and  enrich 
it  with  cow  manure,  the  more  the  better,  for  if  you  want  large 
roses  the  ground  must  be  rich,  and  for  this  purpose  nothing 
equals  this  fertilizer. 

When  ready  to  plant,  trim  off  the  tops  of  the  bush  to  six 
inches  in  height,  and  have  the  joint  where  budded  six  inches 
under  the  surface,  as  I  have  said ;  tread  the  ground  solid,  and 
give  plenty  of  water.  The  plant  will  bear  fine  roses  the  first 
season ;  in  the  fall  cut  the  tops  within  six  or  eight  inches  of 
the  ground  and  trim  the  branches ;  then  slip  over  one  of  the 
straw  covers  that  come  on  wine  bottles  and  tie  a  string  around 
tightly ;  then  cover  the  bed  with  cow  manure  nearly  to  the 
top  of  the  straw  covers. 

In  the  spring  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  remove  the  straw 
covering  and  cut  the  string  about  the  branches,  and  the  work 
is  done.  Straw  bottle  covers  seem  just  the  thing  needed,  and 
if  one  does  not  use  claret  they  can  be  easily  obtained  at  the 
druggist's. 


Miscellatieous  Events. 


285 


When  the  plant  is  ready  to  grow  in  the  spring,  give  it  a 
good  watering  from  a  watering-pot,  using  one  ounce  of  helle- 
bore to  a  gallon  of  water,  and  apply  the  same  several  times 
during  the  season,  or  whenever  green  slugs  appear  on  the 
leaves.  If  water  from  the  hose  is  turned  on  at  full  force,  the 
plants  will  be  kept  free  from  aphides  and  thrips.  When  fall 
comes,  repeat  the  process.  Care  must  be  taken  that  no  growth 
is  allowed  from  the  stalk  below  the  bud.  If  you  want  large 
roses,  remove  all  but  one  bud  to  the  stalk.  The  more  water 
and  manure  you  give  the  rose  the  finer  they  will  be. 

The  best  pink  roses  are  the  "  Baroness  Rothschild "  and 
"  Gabrielle  Luiset  "  ;  for  red,  the  "  General  Jacqueminot  "  and 
"  Ulrich  Brunner  "  ;  for  tea  roses,  "  La  France  "  and  "  Captain 
Christy." 


Chapter  VIII.     Ancestral  Gleanings. 


CHAPTER  on  the  Hunts  may  interest  my  read- 
ers, particularly  the  Hunts  of  direct  descent, 
as  well  as  those  of  indirect  descent.  I  have 
always  thought  the  Hunts  pretty  good  blood, 
but  never  dreamed  the  like  of  this.  To  think 
of  it,  where  so  many  of  our  folks  have  been  working  so  hard, 
claiming  descent  from  Ephraim  Hunt,  second,  a  Colonial  Col- 
onel, when  his  father  was  a  knighted  cavalier  of  Prince  Ru- 
pert's troops,  and  his  headstone  stands  intact  on  Burying  Hill, 
near  the  Soldiers'  Monument,  one  of  the  few  the  vandals  have 
left  undisturbed.     On  it  one  reads  : 

Here  lyeth  Buried  |  ye  Body  of  |  Ephraim  Hunt  |  aged  about 
77  I  years  deceased  |  ye  22<i  of  February  |  1686-7. 

It  is  providential  that  this  history  was  unknown  when  the 
great  hegira  of  school  ma'ams  came  down  to  Boston  in  July, 
1903,  for  had  they  known  of  it,  every  one  by  the  name  of 
Hunt,  of  direct  or  indirect  descent,  would  have  made  a  pil- 
grimage to  the  grave  of  the  old  cavalier  and  the  ancient  head- 
stone would  have  been  chipped  in  small  pieces  and  entirely 
carried  away  in  their  skirt  pockets.  To  think  of  it !  The 
Hunt  family  should  build  a  chapel  over  the  old  stone,  that  it 
may  be  preserved  for  all  time. 


Ancestral  Gleanings.  287 

I  little  thought  that  royal  blood  coursed  through  my  veins, 
and  all  the  other  Hunts  have  the  same.  Be  it  ever  so  demo- 
cratic, I  have  always  thought  there  was  something  haled  me 
the  other  way.     It  was  this  royal  blood  ! 

I  have  sometimes  thought  I  had  an  Irish  brogue,  derived,  as 
I  supposed,  from  our  Irish  ancestor,  Brian  Boru ;  but  now 
after  reading  the  following,  I  know  it  was  a  Scotch  brogue, 
making  me  akin  to  some  of  my  best  friends. 

I  hope  the  Hunts  who  read  the  following  article  will  not 
feel  "  stuck  up,"  as  the  boys  say,  and  pass  their  neighbors  on 
the  other  side  as  did  the  Levite  of  old,  on  account  of  their 
royal  descent.  Perhaps  this  can  be  made  the  basis  for  the 
Sons  of  King  David  and  the  Daughters  of  Queen  Maud,  or 
some  other  Order  smacking  of  royalty. 

"The  name  Hunt  is  from  the  Saxon  word  'hunti,'  a  wolf. 
At  one  time  in  the  history  of  Great  Britain,  this  destructive 
animal  so  abounded  that  it  was  the  business  of  every  man  to 
assist  in  exterminating  it.  To  this  end  the  taxes  in  some 
countries  were  levied  in  wolf's  ears,  hence  the  word  "hunting," 
which  at  first  meant  pursuing  wolves  only ;  afterwards  it  came 
to  mean  the  pursuit  of  game  generally.  Probably  the  Hunts 
took  their  name  from  their  prowess  in  the  hunting  field. 

"  The  names  Hunt,  Hunte,  Huntes,  Hunter,  Hunting, 
Huntting,  Huntingdon,  Hunton  and  Huntley,  all  have  the 
same  origin.  Hundt,  Huntus,  Hontus,  Hunding,  Hundings 
Huntingas  are  other  old  forms  of  this  patronymic. 

"  One  of  the  first  of  the  name  of  whom  any  record  exists 
was  Adam  le  Hunt,  who  lived  in  Nottingham,  England,  in 
1295.  Ralph  le  Hunt,  who  refused  the  offer  of  knighthood, 
lived  in  the  fourteenth  century.  In  the  time  of  Henry  VIII, 
a  Henry  Hunte  lived  in  Yorkshire. 

•'  The  first  Earl  of  Huntingdon  received  his  title  in  return 
for  services  rendered  in  the  restoration  of  Malcolm  III,  on  the 
defeat  of  the  famous   Macbeth  in    1057.     His  son  Waldoef 


288  Reminiscences. 

married  a  niece  of  William  the  Conqueror.  Their  daughter 
married  David,  brother  of  St.  Maud,  Queen  of  England.  He 
became  King  of  Scotland. 

"  The  first  person  of  the  name  of  Hunt  in  this  country  was 
Ephraim  Hunt,  who  settled  in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts.  He 
was  a  refugee  from  the  disastrous  field  of  Marston  Moor,  and 
his  right  name  was  Colonel  Sir  William  Hunt ;  but  to  conceal 
his  identity,  after  his  arrival  in  this  country,  he  changed  his 
name  to  Ephraim.  Once  an  artillery  officer  and  a  dashing 
Tory  cavalier,  he  became  a  quiet  citizen  of  the  new  country. 
He  cropped  his  long  hair,  and  laid  aside  his  fine  dress  as  well 
as  his  title. 

"  He  was  too  noted  a  man  to  be  overlooked,  however,  and 
the  search  for  him  was  continued  until  the  Restoration.  He 
was  regarded  by  the  party  in  power  as  a  '  malignant,'  a  name 
given  to  all  Royalists  of  sufficient  note  to  be  considered  dan- 
gerous by  Cromwell. 

"  At  the  siege  of  York,  Colonel  Hunt  became  the  hero  of 
the  day,  and  the  dignity  of  knighthood  was  conferred  upon 
him  by  Prince  Rupert.  But  at  the  battle  of  Marston  Moor 
the  tide  turned,  and  Colonel  Hunt  fled  to  America,  where  he 
died  in  1686,  forty  years  after  he  left  England. 

"  A  few  months  after  he  settled  in  the  colony  of  Massachu- 
setts, he  married  an  heiress,  Anna  Richards.  Their  three 
sons  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Hunts  in  this  country,  and 
left  records  worthy  of  their  gallant  father.  Every  one  was  a 
military  leader  in  those  dangerous  times  of  Indian  and  French 
wars. 

"  When  that  generation  of  warfare  was  passed,  we  find  the 
same  talent  for  command  displayed  in  another  field  —  in  devel- 
oping the  resources  of  the  country  and  establishing  industrial 
pursuits. 

"  Samuel  Hunt,  a  grandson  of  the  cavalier,  monopolized 
shipbuilding  in  Boston,  and  had  hundreds  of  men  in  his  employ, 


Ancestral  Gleanings.  289 

many  of  them  slaves  who  had  been  brought  in  his  ships  from 
the  West  Indies.  Some  of  these  negroes  were  quite  famous, 
and  the  story  goes  that  one  wrote  poetry.  The  last  of  the 
race,  "  Old  Prince,"  gave  everyone  to  understand  that  there 
was  something  mysteriously  grand  about  the  ancestors  of 
the  Hunts,  but  that  the  present  generation  had  sadly  de- 
generated. 

"  Thomas  Hunt,  a  direct  descendant  of  the  cavalier,  was  a 
youth  of  seventeen  at  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 
His  mother  hid  his  gun,  so  fearful  was  she  that  he  would  en- 
list and  *  run  himself  into  some  danger.'  She  then  retired  for 
the  night,  quite  easy  in  her  mind.  Thomas  found  out  from  a 
servant  where  his  gun  was  concealed.  As  the  door  of  the 
room  was  locked,  he  climbed  into  the  window  from  the  outside, 
got  the  gun  and  was  off  to  the  battle-field  before  daylight. 
He  was  on  the  hill  throughout  the  whole  day.  Soon  after, 
Washington  gave  him  a  commission  and  he  remained  in  the 
army  till  his  death. 

"  His  brother  William,  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  was  Acting  Commissary.  A  stirring  story  is  told  of  his 
bravery  upon  that  eventful  day.  Ammunition  was  exhausted 
in  the  fortification.  Powder  had  arrived  as  far  as  the  valley 
swept  by  the  guns  of  the  English  vessels.  There  it  stopped. 
No  one  would  venture  to  drive  across  the  intervening  distance 
under  fire  to  fetch  it.  At  that  moment  a  young  man  drove  up 
with  a  pair  of  young,  fiery  horses,  which  were  almost  mad- 
dened by  the  uproar. 

"  Mr.  Hunt  said  that  if  he  could  borrow  the  horses  he  would 
bring  the  powder  to  the  hill.  The  owner  of  the  animals  hesi- 
tated ;  the  horses  were  splendid  ones,  and  the  ride  was  certain 
destruction.  Then  he  said :  *  If  Mr.  Hunt  will  risk  his  life  I 
won't  refuse  my  horses.'  They  were  hitched  to  the  wagon  of 
powder.  Lashing  the  excited  animals  Hunt  dashed  across  the 
valley.     The  dangerous  passage  was  made  three  times,  till  all 


290  Reminiscettces. 

the  powder  had  been  brought.     Both  men  and  horses  were 
unharmed." 

OLD    DUXBURY. 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  had  a  desire  to  visit  the  old 
town  of  Duxbury,  thinking  I  might  find  in  the  old  graveyard 
a  stone  bearing  the  name  of  some  of  my  family  —  the  Sopers  ; 
so  last  week  I  took  the  train,  with  my  son  and  my  brother  for 
company.  On  arriving  at  the  Duxbury  station  we  were  met 
by  my  good  friend  Slocum,  whose  name  smells  of  the  salt  sea. 
With  his  strong  horse  and  roomy  carriage,  we  rode  about  the 
town. 

From  the  station  the  view  is  not  all  prepossessing,  but 
shortly  we  reached  the  village,  where  we  found  a  fine  stone 
road,  smooth  as  a  billiard  table ;  on  each  side  were  the  old- 
fashioned  houses  that  the  sea  captains  of  long  ago  built,  and 
which  are  still  kept  in  the  best  condition. 

How  different  the  Duxbury  of  to-day  from  the  Duxbury  on 
the  day  (July  24,  1852)  when  the  writer,  belonging  to  the 
Weymouth  Band  employed  by  the  Whigs  of  Duxbury,  marched 
through  the  town,  and  escorted  Daniel  Webster  from  the  rail- 
road station  to  his  home  in  Marshfield !  How  well  I  remem- 
ber Mr.  Webster,  greeted  by  his  neighbors  and  speaking  from 
a  hay  cart  just  by  the  driveway  on  his  grounds ! 

As  a  visitor,  I  would  much  rather  see  the  town  of  fifty-one 
years  ago  than  to-day  in  its  clean  appearance.  As  we  rode 
along,  my  brother  inquired  of  Mr.  Slocum  if  he  knew  a  Mr. 
Gushing.  Indeed  he  did.  He  was  an  old  friend  of  my  brother 
many  years  ago.  Our  trip  would  not  have  been  half  so  good 
had  we  not  met  the  old  gentleman  ;  for  he  knew  so  much  of 
the  town,  he  told  me  of  many  things  I  could  not  have  learned 
otherwise.  He  pointed  out  the  cottage  where  our  old  singer 
Mr.  John  Wildes  lived,  close  by  his  office.     He  told  me  of  the 


Ancestral  Gleanings.  291 

churches  of  which  I  wanted  a  history,  and  where  to  find  the  old 
graveyard  in  the  south  part  of  the  town.  This  was  our  next 
point  to  reach.  In  this  graveyard  is  supposed  to  be  the  rest- 
ing place  of  Miles  Standish,  and  also  the  site  of  the  First 
Church  in  Duxbury.  Doubt  hangs  over  all.  We  examined 
all  the  old  slate  headstones,  so  thickly  covered  with  moss 
that  the  writing  was  hardly  legible.  I  looked  in  vain  to  find  a 
stone  so  far  back  as  1750,  the  last  of  the  colonial  period,  and  I 
did  not  find  what  I  wanted,  as  there  was  no  one  of  the  name  of 
Soper.  This  burial  ground  was  in  a  dreary  place  overlook- 
ing the  salt  marshes.  In  its  centre  we  saw  a  stone,  said  to 
show  the  last  resting  place  of  the  sturdy  little  Captain  Miles 
Standish. 

We  then  rode  to  a  part  of  the  Standish  farm,  called  Captain's 
Hill,  which  rises  out  of  the  flat  country  some  1 80  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Standish's  house  was  at  the  base ;  Brew- 
ster and  Alden  lived  near  by.  It  was  a  hard  road  for  our  horse 
to  travel  this  steep  ascent,  and  tiresome  for  those  who  rode 
behind,  but  we  were  well  repaid  from  the  magnificent  scene 
that  spread  before  our  eyes. 

On  Captain's  Hill  is  the  monument  dedicated  to  the  memory 
of  Miles  Standish,  which  has  been  for  the  last  thirty  years 
building,  but  is  now  completed  and  over  100  feet  in  height.  It 
is  strongly  built  of  granite.  In  the  centre  of  the  tower  is  a 
spiral  stair-case  leading  to  the  platform  at  the  top.  It  is  a  tire- 
some journey  up  to  the  platform,  but  when  done  the  view  will 
repay  for  the  trouble,  for  out  of  the  windows  one  sees  the  land 
of  the  Pilgrims  from  Plymouth  to  Marshfield.  Across  the  bay 
is  Clark's  Island,  where  the  Pilgrims  stopped  awhile. 

On  the  summit  of  the  tower  is  a  stone  figure  of  the 
"doughty  captain"  of  Plymouth,  surveying  the  land  he  so 
carefully  guarded  and  protected,  for  can  anyone  say  that  there 
would  have  been  a  Pilgrim  republic  had  there  not  been  a  Miles 
Standish .? 


292  Reminiscences. 

From  this  point  we  went  to  the  Standish  House  (hotel)  by 
the  seashore,  —  a  pleasant  place,  —  got  dinner  and  then  took 
carriage  for  the  station  and  home,  having  had  a  fine  day  in  old 
Duxbury. 

A    STRANGE  OCCURRENCE. 

One  beautiful  day  in  June,  happening  to  go  through  the 
Hunt  Burying  Ground  (Ashwood  Cemetery),  I  stopped  as  is 
my  wont  before  the  tomb  of  Deacon  Ebenezer  Hunt,  my 
grandfather.  As  I  stood  there  thinking  of  the  past,  the  tomb 
door  opened  and  out  walked  the  old  gentleman,  and  shading 
his  eyes  from  the  darkness  of  the  tomb  in  a  soliloquizing  way 
he  said,  "  This  is  Paradise." 

Dressed  in  the  garb  of  seventy-four  years  ago,  he  looked  so 
quaint,  —  the  high  collar  to  his  coat,  his  long  vest  and  buckled 
shoes.  At  once  I  recognized  him  as  my  grandfather,  from 
what  I  had  been  told  of  him.  He  saw  me  and  looked  inquir- 
ingly. 

I  told  him  I  was  the  son  of  his  youngest  son  Elias,  his  Ben- 
jamin, and  that  I  was  the  last  of  my  generation.  I  told  him 
this  was  not  Paradise,  but  that  it  was  perhaps  as  near  as  we 
would  get  to  Paradise.  I  told  him  this  was  the  same  old 
world  and  the  same  old  sun  he  had  seen  seventy-four  years 
before. 

When  a  boy  five  years  old  I  stood  tiptoe  on  the  cellar  door 
and  looked  into  the  window  of  the  old  house  at  his  funeral.  I 
remember  the  hymn  sung,  called  "The  dying  Christian." 
"  Lend,  lend  your  wings,  I  mount,  I  fly : "  this  I  never 
forgot. 

As  we  stood  there,  the  old  deacon  said  he  would  like  to  take 
a  walk  around  the  village.  Going  out  of  the  old  burying 
ground  we  turned  to  the  left.  At  the  first  house  with  its  old 
brick  basement  the  deacon  stopped,  saying,  "  Here  lives  my 


Ancestral  Gleanings.  293 

nephew,  Frederick  Gushing.  I  will  run  in  and  see  him."  I 
told  him  his  nephew  had  been  dead  many  years.  Looking  up 
the  street  he  saw  the  house  of  his  son  Elias,  and  at  once 
showed  a  desire  to  see  him.  I  said,  "  No,  you  cannot  see  him  ; 
he  died,  an  old  man,  some  years  ago."  The  old  deacon  sighed 
and  said,  "Is  it  so.?  how  I  would  like  to  see  him."  Looking 
across  the  way  he  saw  his  old  home  just  as  he  left  it,  and 
said,  "  There  is  the  house  I  built ;  there  I  brought  my  wife 
Susanna  Bowditch,  who  bore  all  my  children ;  there  she  died, 
and  in  time  I  brought  to  my  home  my  second  wife,  Tirza 
Bates." 

He  saw  the  place  just  as  he  left  it,  —  the  great  barn,  its 
mows  filled  with  hay,  the  stalls  with  oxen  and  cows,  the  old 
bay  mare.  He  saw  it  all,  and  then  we  walked  up  Front  street. 
Passing  the  house  on  the  left  the  deacon  said,  "  I  would  like 
to  go  in  and  see  the  Cowings,  for  they  were  of  my  second 
wife's  family."  I  replied,  "  No,  they  are  not  there,  they  are 
dead." 

The  old  man  said  not  a  word  but  walked  on  up  the  hill  to 
the  Nashes,  all  of  whom  he  knew  and  was  eager  to  see,  — 
Timothy,  Zichri,  Joseph  and  all.  I  told  him  they  were  all 
gone. 

"Well,"  said  he,  "we  will  go  to  Gravel  hill,  and  I  shall 
surely  find  Thomas,  Jacob  and  Nathaniel  Richards,  my  old 
friends."  We  went  there  but  found  only  the  old  houses  they 
had  once  lived  in ;  all  were  dead.  The  deacon  said,  "  How 
sad ;  how  I  would  liked  to  have  met  them."  Brightening  up 
he  said,  "  Well,  we  will  go  across  the  plain  to  Back  street ;  I 
am  sure  I  shall  find  my  old  friend  Brackley  Go] son."  We 
found  the  old  house  but  Mr.  Golson  too  was  dead. 

The  old  gentleman,  the  deacon,  owned  many  acres  on  the 
Whitman  place  where  Mr.  Golson  died.  He  saw  the  old  place 
just  as  it  was  seventy-two  years  before.  There  had  been  no 
change  only  in  ownership. 


294  Reminiscences. 

We  turned  our  way  down  the  street,  passing  on  the  left  the 
house  where  Eben  Kingman  lived.  The  deacon  wished  to  see 
him,  but  I  said,  "  He  too  is  dead."  Down  the  street  we  went 
to  Albert  Hunt's  by  John  P.  Nash's,  deacon  of  the  old  Union 
Church,  and  so  it  was,  place  after  place  there  was  no  one 
to  greet  him,  no  one  to  take  his  hand,  all  was  so  quiet  and 
so  sad. 

No  one  noticed  my  companion,  my  aged  sire,  as  we  walked 
around  together,  for  he  seemed  invisible  and  saw  nothing  but 
the  world  as  it  was  seventy-four  years  ago.  Thus  we  walked 
by  the  railroad  tracks  and  he  saw  nothing  of  the  things  that 
had  come  since  he  died,  and  it  came  across  me  that  it  seemed 
quite  uncanny  to  be  strolling  about  the  village  with  the  ghost 
of  my  grandfather,  but  it  was  so. 

From  Back  street  we  went  our  way  down  Front  street,  the 
old  deacon  telling  as  he  went  quaint  stories  of  those  who  had 
lived  in  the  houses  we  passed,  I  learning  much  from  him  of  the 
olden  times. 

As  we  went  along  he  told  of  his  eldest  son  Ebenezer,  a  man 
of  note  in  his  time,  who  died  before  the  deacon.  Down  we 
went,  past  the  Bicknells,  the  Coolidges  and  the  Tildens  —  all 
these  the  old  deacon  wanted  to  stop  to  see,  as  he  knew  them 
all. 

Coming  to  the  house  where  his  second  son,  William,  lived 
and  died,  the  old  gentleman  told  me  of  the  joyous  time  when 
my  father,  his  son  Elias,  brought  his  bride  from  Cambridge 
along  with  a  gay  company.  The  deacon  said  to  me  he  did 
not  quite  like  it,  so  gay  was  this  company  and  so  unlike  the 
staid  folks  of  the  neighborhood,  and  he  the  deacon  of  the 
church. 

Continuing,  we  went  down  the  street  to  Dr.  Fifield's.  I 
think  the  deacon  loved  Dr.  Fifield,  as  I  know  he  loaned  him 
the  money  that  enabled  the  doctor  to  stay  in  Weymouth  when 
he  thought  of  leaving  the  village.     When  we  got  to  the  Square 


Ancestral  Gleanings.  295 

the  deacon  wanted  to  run  in  to  see  Mr.  James  Whittemore, 
Cotton  Tufts,  Asa  Webb,  Micah  Richmond,  Caleb  Hunt,  and 
others  of  his  old  acquaintances.  But  I  told  him  they  were  all 
dead  years  ago.  This  was  indeed  sad  for  the  old  gentleman, 
but  still  we  went  on  to  the  old  Union  Church. 

Here  he  stopped  and  gazed  wistfully.  He  had  seen  the  old 
church  when  it  stood  in  HoUis  street,  Boston,  as  Charles  Bul- 
finch  designed  it,  with  its  two  towers.  The  deacon  and  Colonel 
Minot  Thayer  were  the  prime  movers  in  bringing  the  church  to 
our  village.  The  deacon  told  me  much  of  the  church,  so  in- 
teresting. 

Going  on,  we  came  to  the  riverside  and  looking  across  to  the 
home  of  Colonel  Minot  Thayer,  he  said,  "  How  I  would  like  to 
see  the  colonel."  I  replied,  "  He  is  not  there,  he  too  is  dead." 
With  a  sad  air  the  old  deacon  said,  "  Well,  we  will  go  up  the 
street  by  the  way  of  the  turnpike,  we  may  meet  Captain 
Weston  whom  I  knew  so  well,  and  perhaps  Mr.  Elijah  Pierce, 
Mr.  Thomas  Reed,  and  others. 

So  we  went,  but  found  none ;  all  were  dead,  and  finally  we 
wandered  back  to  the  old  burying  ground  and  as  we  stood  by 
the  Hunt  tomb  the  deacon  said,  "  The  earth  is  beautiful,  but 
how  lonely ;  all  of  those  I  knew,  all  of  those  I  loved,  are  gone." 

Saying  this  he  entered  the  tomb,  the  door  closed  upon  him, 
he  vanished  from  my  sight,  and  entered  into  the  peace  that 
passeth  understanding. 


ADDENDA. 


In  the  Richards  Genealogy  it  is  stated  that  the  name  of  Richards 
is  a  Welsh  patronymic  and  first  occurred  as  that  of  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury  during  the  reign  of  Henry  II,  from  1154  to  1189. 
Dame  Ann  Richards,  mother  of  Anna,  was  the  daughter  of  Gov- 
ernor John  Winthrop  of  New  London,  and  had  a  sister,  Elizabeth 
Endicott,  widow  of  Governor  Endicott,  and  inherited  a  vast  estate 
from  her  husband.  Her  son  John  was  appointed  executor  of  the 
will  of  his  father,  but  being  absent  in  England  at  the  time,  the 
widow,  Welthean,  was  appointed,  and  her  son-in-law,  Ephraim  Hunt, 
was  bound  for  her  in  the  sum  of  ;^2,ooo.  In  165 1  she  returned  to 
Boston  and  was  at  once  received  as  one  of  the  aristocracy.  She 
died  in  1679.  Alice,  a  sister  of  Anna,  married  William  Bradford, 
Deputy  Governor  of  Plymouth,  Mary  Richards,  another  sister, 
married  Thomas  Hinckley,  Governor  of  Plymouth.  The  three 
sons  of  Anna  (Richards)  and  Ephraim  Hunt  inherited  large  prop- 
erty and  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Hunts  in  this  country.  They 
left  records  worthy  of  their  gallant  father.  Every  one  was  a  mili- 
tary leader  in  those  dangerous  times  of  Indian  and  French  wars. 

When  that  generation  of  warfare  was  passed,  we  find  the  same 
talent  for  command  displayed  in  another  field  —  in  developing  the 
resources  of  the  country  and  establishing  industrial  pursuits. 


^::4^ 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Gorham  D.  259 
Adams, 90,  238-240 

Charles   Francis  45,  88,  116,  127,  212, 
237,  238,  276 

Henry  232 

John  211 

John  Quincy  66,  67,  72 

Nehemiah  72 
Adlington,  Francis  M.  23,  46,  67,  68,  91 

Alcott, 261 

Alden,  John  18 

Priscilla  18 
Allen,  Abijah  268 

Frank  155,  196 

John  B.  86 

William  196 
Ames,  Capt.  160 

Lieut.  Col.  282 
Anderson, 118 

Robert  143 
Andrew,  John  A.  144 
Arnold, 26 

Cornelius  40 

Elijah  73,  83,  84 

George  W.  40 

Samuel  22,  213,  228,  231 
Atchison,  David  R.  120,  122 
Atherton,  Stetson  &  Co.  132 
Austen,  Jane  60 
Austin,  David  251 
Ayres,  Royal  76 
Baby,  Capt.  198,  200 


Bacon,  Robert  159 
Bailey,  Jeremiah  85 

Ashford  78 
Baker, 218 

George  78,  87 

WilUam  78 
Baker  &  Spinney  137 
Ball,  Francis  232 

Josiah  97,  98 

Banfield, 161 

Banfield  &  Forristall  156,  193 
Banks,  Nathaniel  P.  107,  118 

Barker, 268 

Barrows,  Dan.  148 
Barry,  John  Stetson  203 
Bartlett,  George  55,  56,  96,  98 
Bassett,  I.  118 
Bates,  Benjamin  36 

Cotton  233 

Elijah  20 

Harvey  39 

James  118 

James  L.  68,  89,  145 

Joseph  I.  52 

Joshua  31 

Robert  40 

Samuel  A.  63 

Tirzah31,293 

William  39,  41 

Zachariah  33,  34,  37,  38 

Zachri40 
Baylies,  Francis  63 


298 


Index. 


Beals,  Elias  234 
Beauregard,  Gen.  143 
Beckley,  James  R.  22 
Beecher,  Henry  Ward  1 16 
Bell,  John  139 
Bent,  Josiah  209 
Benton,  Jessie  119,  120 

Thomas  H.  120 

Besant, 167 

Bicknell, 229,  234,  294 

,David  29 

George  H.  55,  82 

Lovell  137 

Luke  29, 92 

Wallace  29 

Zachariah  227 
Binney,  Silas  25,  40,  44,  75,  81,  86 
Birney,  James  G.  72,  82 
Blagden,  Geo.  W.  62 
Blaine,  James  G.  140 

Blaisdell, 145 

Blanchard, 77 

Elisha  20,  26,  86 

George  20,  40,  86 

Isaac  26,  76 

Isaac  L.  86 

Nathaniel  26,  76,  81,  89,  129,  143,  233 

William  270 
Boutwell,  George  S.  107, 129,  244,  260,261 
Bowditch, 44,  117 

Adoniram9,  51,75,  79 

Adoniram  J.  40,  44,  146 

Alden  40,  52 

Alexander  40,  86 

Benjamin  40 

Benjamin  T.  40 

Charlotte  (Hunt)  9 

Eben  C.  86 

Granville  52 

John  83 

Ruthy  40 

Samuel  40,  86 

Susannah  31,  293 

William  40,  41,44 
Bowen,  Jock  149 
Bowers,  Miss  52 
Boynton, 10  '* 

H.  &  E.  A.  98 

Haskell  76 


Bradford,  Ephraim  98 

Breck, 52,  91 

Breckinridge,  John  C.  119,  139 

Brignoli, 251 

Bryant, 60 

Brooke,  Stopford  175 

Brooks,  Preston  C.  121,  123-126 

Brown, 66 

A.  S.&  J.  136 

Charles  Brockden  254 
Bruce,  Robert  194 

Buchanan,  James  98,  103,  104,  119,  120 
Burlingame,  Anson  125 
Burnell,  Jonathan  75,  98 
Burns,  Anthony  112-114 
Burr,  Waters  193 
Burrell,  Jesse  40 

Samuel  96 
Burrill,  Samuel  149 
Burroughs,  William  32 
Butler,  Andrew  P.  121-123,  125,  126 

Benjamin  F.  90,  194,  262 

Samuel  237 
Calhoun,  John  C.  99 
Cambridge,  William  G.  203 

Canterbury, 234 

Cass,  Lewis  90,  103,  122 
Cate,  Frederick  85 

Chamberlin,  76 

Channing,  William  E.  72 
Chapman,  Mrs.  133 

Maria  (Weston)  72 
Cheesman,  Addison  21,  31,  37,  38,  80 
Chessman,  John  37,  38 

William  97 
Chickering,  Jonas  42 
Chipman, 117 

Edward  108 

Lucy  J.  10,  13 

W.  H.  109 
Choate,  Rufus  107 
Clapp, 283 

Adoram  28,  29,  89,  109,  128 

Charles  22 

Edwin  281 

J.  H.  147,  148 

Joseph  22 
Clark,  Arthur  167,  168,  175,  178-180 

Rev.  Mr.  250 


Index. 


299 


Clark,  Robert  F.  167 

Clarke,  James  Freeman  69,  117 

Clay,  Henry  72,  82,  89,  99,  101,  105 

Cleverly, 234 

Clothes,  John  232 
Coats,  Thomas  232 
Codman,  Ogden  164 
Coffin,  E.  W.  203 
Cole,  William  52,  86 
CoUingwood,  Admiral  174 
Colson,  Brackley  293 
Thomas  21,  36,  109 
Cook,  A.  N.  132 

Capt.  242 

John  228 

Samuel  22,  34,  40 
Coolidge, 294 

William  29 

WilUam  B.  40 
Cooper,  James  Fenimore  60,  254,  255, 257 
Cowing, 80,  82,  220,  228,  293 

Balch  21,  30,  31,  55 

Balch  (Hunt),  Mrs.  31 

Francis  H.  22,  25 

Granny  25 

Henry  B.  40,  70 

William  97 
Cox,  Charles  132 

Matthew  132 

Crane, 193 

Cressey,  Rev.  Mr.  218,  221 
Crowninshield,    B.  W.    159,   162,   196-198, 

200-202 
Curtis, 239 

Frank  282 

Ira  54,  86 

Leander  267 

Samuel  22 
Cushing, 218,  265,  290 

Augustus  T.  51 

Chauncey  (Loud),  Mrs.  268 

David  31,  39,  41,  43, 44 

Edward  40,  41,43,  101 

Francis  136,  146 

Frederic  30,  38,  293 

George  141,  146 

Hannah  40 

Hiram  38-41,  43 

John  39,  41 


Cushing,  Peter  15,  87,  88,  90,  109 
Peter  H.  21,  23 
Simeon  28,  31,  33,  34,  40,  43 
Simon  41 

Thomas  39,41,43,44 
Cushman,  Charlotte  57 

Spencer  40 
Damon,  Jonathan  25 

Priscilla  40 
Dana,  Richard  H.  112,  159 
Darby,  Edward  232 
Davenport,  John  E.  204 
Davis,  James  160 
Jefferson  124 
Thomas  91,  92 
Davy,  Manning  132,  136 
Dayton,  William  L.  1 19 
Dean,  Annie  268 
Deane,  Samuel  63 
Dennis,  John  S.  203 
Denton,  Quincy  83 
Samuel  267 

Derby, 13,  267 

Dickerman,  Nathan  259 
Nathan  W.  259 
Rebecca  259 
Dill,  Charles  147 
Dizer,  Marshall  C.  131,  147 
Dole,  Margaret  40 
Donelson,  Andrew  J.  119 
Douglas,  Frederick  71 
Stephen  A.  103,  104,  112,  119,  121, 
139,  144 
Downing,  Andrew  Jackson  250 
Doyle,  Joseph  155 
Dyer,  Daniel  115,  128,  234 

Easton, 218 

Edge, 136 

Ellis,  Thomas  70,  96,  107 
Elssler,  Fanny  74 
Emerson,  Ralph  W.  261 
Emery,  Joshua  48,  49,  79,  206,  234 
English,  Frank  141,  146 
Esterbrook,  John  132 
Everett,  Edward  116,  124,  139 
Faucon,  Edward  159,  188,  189 

Faxon, 239 

Rachel  40 
Fellows,  Ensign  226 


122, 


300 


Index. 


Field,  Granville  E.  25 

William  22,  25 
Fifield,  Noah  28,  48,  68,  81,  86,  245,  294 

William  C.  B.  244,  245 
Fillmore,   Millard  90,  100,  102,  104,  119, 

120,  232,  233 
Fiske,  James  267 

John  262 
Forbes,  Cole  &  Thayer  20 
Forbes,  John  M.  159 

Robert  B.  99,  159,  172,188 
Foster,  John  Hatherly  11, 13, 14,  30,  32,  51 
Fox,  John  61 
Foye,  John  O.  85,  233 

Samuels.  146,  151,  152 

Stephen  85 
Fremont,  Jessie  (Benton)  119,  120 

JohnC.  119,  120,  140 
French, 265 

George  239 

Samuel  233 
Fuller,  Margaret  260,  261 

Timothy  260 
Gannett,  Ezra  S.  Ill 
Gardner,  Henry  J.  115,  116,  128 
Garland,  A.  E.  225-227 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd  30,  69,  72,  111, 

115,117,220,240 
Gilbert,  J.  H.  128 
Goddard,  D.  F.  204 

Goodhue, 107 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.  129,  159,  262 
Gray,  Horace  160 

Thomas  169, 172,  180-182, 185,  196 
Greeley,  Horace  116,  134,  141 
Green,  Joseph  231 
Gurney,  Sam  232 
Hale,  John  P.  105 
Hall,  Albion  97 

Capt.  159 

Elijah  F.  98,  106 
Hamlin,  Hannibal  139,  140 
Hanson,  Edward  15 

Thomas  R.  22,  23,  55,  98 
Harding,  William  M.  234 

Hard  wick, 239  . 

Harris,  Tom  147,  148 
Harrison,  William  H.  65,  66 
Hartshorn,  Jonathan  20 


Hassam,  Frederick  F.  146 
Hastings,  Charles  W.  14$ 

Hatch, 118 

Hathaway,  William  F.  85 

Hawes,  Bradford  222 

Hawkins,  John  67 

Hawthorne,  Nathaniel  60,  104,  106, 

261 
Hayden,  J.  W.  86 

Sam  75 
Hay  ward, 228    ' 

William  40 
Hemphill,  J.  203 

Hermans, 251 

Higginson,  Thomas  W.  113 
Hill,  Rhoda  (Stetson)  51 

Hine, 169 

Hoar,  George  F.  129,  260-262 
Hobart, 44 

Charles  40 

F.  A.  53 

Henry  40 

William  W.  86 
Hodgdon,  John  232 
Holbrook, 229,  231 

Abner  115,  128,234 

Cornelius  23 1 

Daniel  90 

Henry  50 

Henry  J.  131 
Holden,  George  S.  76 
Holden  &  Cutler  131 
Hollis,  Bart  36 

Ehza  40 

Freeman  128,  129 

James  36 

Otis  108 
Holmes^  Abiel  9 

Eleanor  270 

Oliver  W.  9,  213 
Hovey,  James  G.  136, 137 
Howe,  Appleton  48,  81,  97,  128,  206 

John  C.  154,  156 
Howe  &  French  154,  156 
Humphrey, 229 

Albert  55 

Col.  211 

James  128,  152,234 
Hunneman  &  Co.  73 


107, 


Index. 


301 


Hunt, 41,  43,  44,  109,  165,  200,  202, 

219-224,  229,  231,  265,  279,  281,  286- 

289 
A.  N.  &  Co.  31,  109-111,  116 
Albert  36 

Anna  (Richards)  288 
Asa  34,  36,  129 
Atherton,  42,  83,  89,  131 
Atherton  N.  24,  33,  38,  39,  4M3,  73,  80, 

82,  84,  109,  128,  205,  233 
Aubrey  169,  180 
Betsey  (Nash)  42 
Byron,  Mrs.  34 
Caleb  24,  51,92,295 

Charles  19,  29,  33,  42,  79,  82,  84,  89,  131 
Charles  E.  40,  43,  70,  90,  101,  107,  118, 

128,  145,  233 
Charles  P.  34 
Charlotte  9 
Col.  288 
Daniel  34 

Davi(i33,  34,  81,  108,  132 
E.  Atherton  34,  83,  118,  128,  143 
Eben  29-32,  54,  81,  118,  131 
Ebenezer  28,  31,  33-35,  3844,  50,  57,  84, 

151,  205,  228,  258,  265,  292,  294 
Ebenezer  A.  75 
Ebenezer  William  14,  129-131 
Edmund  83,  244 
Edmund  S.  75 
Elbridge  73,  89 
Elbridge  G.  9,  22,  29,  92,  233 
Elias  9,  30,  31,  38,  4044,  47,  79,  100, 

128,  206,  233,  292-294 
Elizabeth  40,  42,  269 
Elizabeth  (Richards)  32 
Emmons  31,  33,  40,  42 
Ephraim  227,  228,  231,  286,  288 
Eunice  (Nash)  42 
Fred  131,  149,  150,  155 
George  34 
George  Minot  143 
Henry  287 
James  269 
John  228 

John  E.  29,  34,  92,  250 
Lucy  J.  (Chipman)  10 
Maria  (Cook)  34 
Nathaniel  19,  21,  29,  i:S,  40,  42,  43,  268 


Hunt,  N.  F.  T.  269 

Quincy  25 

Richard  19,  29,  33,  42,  79,  82,  84, 89 

Richard  A.  10,  40,  43,  44, 67, 70, 99, 101, 
118,  128,145,206,233,269 

Richard  Lloyd  33 

Russell  200,  269 

Samuel  3941,  288 

Susan  40,  42 

Susannah  31,  50 

Susannah  (Bowditch)  31,293 

Thomas  2S9 

Tirza  Bates  31,  293 

William  9, 30,  31, 40-44, 265, 288, 289, 294 

William  M.  188 

William  M.  (Perkins),  Mrs.  188 

Ziba40 
Hyde,  WilUam  27 
Ingraham,  Fred  143 
Irving,  Washington  60 

Jackman, 107 

Jackson,  Andrew  89,  103 

Edmund  232 

Isaac  76,  130,  146 

James  W.  225 

John  76 
Jefferson,  Thomas  119 
Jenks,  William  259 
Jewett,  Dr.  67 
Johnson, 124,  139 

Samuel  209 
Joice,  Mary  40 
Jones,  James  228 
Jordan,  Peleg  50 

Thomas  40 
Joy,  Caleb  36 

David  39 

Eri  T.  147 

Noah  36 

Julien, 79,  105 

Keith, 87 

Bizah  52 
Kelley,  Henry  267 
Kellogg,  Louise  251 

Kendall, 150 

Kimball, 162 

Moses  74 

Supt.  196-201 
King,  Benjamin  55 


302 


Index. 


Kingman,  Amos  35 

Ebenezer  34-38,  81,296 

Ebenezer,  Mrs.  35 

John  39,  41 

Minot  40 

Sally  25 

Tabitha  40 

Thomas  231,291 

William  38,  40 
Kingsbury,  Fisher  A.  22,  55,  86,  90,  91 
Kossuth,  Louis  102,  103 
Lafayette,  Gen.  103 
Lane,  Andrews  266,  269 

Daniel  40 

Joseph  139 

Peter  20,  54,  55,  85,  86,  108 

Quincy  20 
Lanergan,  Andrew  136,  137 

Henry  146 
Lathrop,  Prescott  128 
Lawrence, 190 

Abbott  159,  232,  233 

Amos  232,  233 

William  232 
Lawson,  Peter  154 
Leach,  Benjamin  75 

Ezra  14,  23,  33,  48,  51,  54,  66,  71,  85,  91, 
92 

Isaac  33 

Jesse  40 

Lebbeus  39 

Mary  13 
Learned,  E.  T.  79 

Leavitt, 56 

Le  Hunt,  Adam  287 

Ralph  287 
Lewis, 168,  169,  218 

Winslow  118,  137 
Lincoln, 218 

Abraham  119,  139-142,  144 

Cyrus  86 

David  267 

George  266,  268,  269 

Marshall  118 

Solomon  63 
Lind,  Jenny  38 
Lindsley,  J.  C.  132 
Linfield, 71 

Arad  19 


Linton 140,  141,  146,  151,  152 

Augustus  145,  146 

Charles  155 

Edward  F.  132,  134,  136,  145,  146,  155 

P.  Henry  145 
Littlefield,  Justin  40 
Livermore,  Daniel  P.  203 

Mary  A.  203 
Long,  John  D. 124 
Longfellow,  Henry  W.  60,  124 
Loring, 113 

Enos  118 

N.  W.  86 

Thomas  87 

William  Caleb  201 
Lothrop, 190 

Samuel  K.  127,  160 
Loud, 56,  76 

Henry  131,  234 

Jacob  32 

John  J.  44 

John  W.  40,  44,  55,  86,  98,  128,  145, 
233 

Joseph  26,  76,  86,  118,228 

Lorenzo  H.  75 

Richard  32,  131 

Richard  £.81,  109 

Sarah  268 

Warren  86 
Lovell, 198,  200,  229 

John  P.  118,  161,  197,234 

Stephen  206 
Lucy,  Thomas  61 
Ludden,  James  232 

Lyle,  Lieut.,  Capt.  162,  163,  196-200,  231 
Lyon,  Lieut.  163 
Manley,  Wm.  232 
Marcy,  William  L.  103,  104 
Mason,  James  M.  140 

Lowell  111 
Masten  &  Wells  193 
Matthews,  Watson  40 
May,  Samuel  J.  117 

McCormick, 132 

McGraw,  Morris  196 

Medora, 251 

Mellen,  Charles  W.  204 

Thon\as  96 

Thomas  £.  li 


Index. 


303 


Merritt,  Emeline  iO,  23 

Washington  23,  151 

William  151,  153 
Miller, 238,  239 

William  74 
Mitchell,  Nathan  63 
Monk,  Elias  232 
Morgan,  —^  250 

J.  P.  159 
Morphy,  Paul  143 

Morse, 139 

Motley,  John  Lothrop  159 

Thomas  159-161,  164-167,  169,  187,  188, 
197 

Mudge, 150 

Nash, 265 

A.  Prescott  145 

Aaron  P.  22 

Betsey  42 

Ebenezer  33 

Elias  22,  97 

Elias  W.  40 

Eliza  40 

Erastus  36,  109 

Eunice  42 

George  32,  36,  40,  81 

Gilbert  14,  32,  231,  237 

Henry  228 

Henry  A.  55 

Job  35 

JohnP.  35,  39,40,  88,294 

Joseph  296 

Lieut.  232 

Nancy  35 

Oran40 

Prince  E.  33,  83,  84 

S.  W.  109,  131,  142 

Stephen36,  40,  41,81,  109 

Thomas  31,  128 

Timothy  32,  35,  296 

Warren  40 

WilUam  40 

Zichri31,296 
Newcomb,  Deacon  30,  41,  88,  214 
Newton,  Alexander  S.  40 

Henry  40 

Lincohi  40,  52 

Minot  40 
Nims, 14 


Northumberland,  Duke  of  168 
Norton,  Jacob  205 

Noyes, 107 

Nye  &  Hunt  70 

Nye,  Dr.  78 

"  Old  Prince  "  289 

Olmstead,  Frederick  Law  250 

Packard,  Col.  282 

Pain,  James  194 

Paine,  Abner  W.  79 

Palmer,  Capt.  169-172,  177,  178,  180,  185 

186 
Park,  Charles  23 
Parker,  Theodore  62,  69,  102, 111-113, 127, 

220,  240 
Pater,  Martha  40 
Peabody,  George  175 
Pease,  James  T.  9 

Peck, 158 

Perkins,  Jonas  19,  28,  35,  38,41,47,48,50, 
67,88,204,245,  279 

Josiah  40,  44 

Martha  50 

Thomas  Handasyde  188 
Peterson,  Henry  98 

John  P.  25,  97 

Phelps, 168 

Phillips,  Isaac  26,  32 

John  32,  96,  97 

Nich.  232 

Wendell  69,  73,  102,  111,  113,  140,  220, 
240 
Pierce,  Elijah  23,  54,  297 

Eliot  26 

Franklin  98,  104-107 
Pillsbury,  Parker  14,  69,  71,  240 
Poe,  Edgar  A.  60 
Polk,  James  K.  72,  104 
Pomeroy,  Samuel  C.  127 
Pope,  Frederic  25 
Porter,  Frank  267,  268 

GeorgelS,  25,66,  118 

George  E.  270 

George  M.  34 

Jane  60 

John  15,  25,  66 

Joseph  40 

T.  B.  86 

Thomas  89,  118,  120 


304 


Index. 


Porter,  Thomas  B.  21,  22,  85 

Whitcomb  20,  24-26,  54,  66,  76,  89,  205 
Potter,  Edmund  S.  234 
Powers,  Samuel  L.  220 
Pratt, 229 

Francis  B.  145 

Lewis  22 

Martin  K.  109 

Nathaniel  40 

Phineas91,250,  270 

Solon  22 

Thomas  94 
Pray,  Edward  40,  50 

George  40 

Thomas  25 
Prescott,  William  H.  60 

Quincy, 238,  239 

Rand,  Theodore  J.  98 
Randall,  Dean  86 
Ray,  Abram70,  71 
Raymond,  Alvah  1 37 

Robert  75,  267 

William  267 
Reed,  Edwin  163 

Hannah  40 

Harvey  20 

John  163 

Loring  W.  40 

M.  F. 204 

M.  T. 152 

Mary  40 

Quincy  20 

Samuel  24,  40,  86 

Samuel  W.  12 

Thomas  25,40,  295 
Remington,  Jacob  83,  84 
Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua  174 
Rhines,  John  B.  76 

JohnC.  21,22,49,  76,  86,  89 
Rice,  C.  A.  21,  25 
Richards, 81,  220,  229 

Alden,  32 

Anna  288 

Augustus  J.  52,  55 

Austin  30,  74 

Avis  32 

David  25 

Deborah  40 

Eben  H. 22 


Richards,  Ebenezer  28,  40 

Ebenezer  Hunt  29,  44 

Edward  32 

Elbridge  32 

Elias  20,  23,  29,  30,  38,  39,  42,  44,  70-72, 
86,  109,  233,  266,  268,  269 

Elias  (Hunt),  Mrs.  38,  42,  269 

Elizabeth  32 

Elizabeth  (Hunt)  42,  269 

Francis  32,  36 

Frank  32 

George  28 

Jacob  32,  52,  86,  97,  293 

Josiah  29,  32,  129 

Nathaniel21,32,  40,  293 

Sara  40 

Susan  270 

Thomas  32,  39,  293 
Richards  &  Hunt,  129,  130 
Richardson,  Mrs.  42,  91 

E.  T.  F.  42 
Richmond,  Micah  52,  295 
Ripley,  Ebed  193 

Henry  193 
Robinson,  Charles  127 
Rockefeller,  John  D.  250 
Rollie,  John  78 
Ross,  Lieut.  198 
Russell,  Bradford  261 

Thomas  262 
Sanderson,  Chester  136-138 
Sanderson  &  Lanergan  131,  136 
Sato,  M.  192 
SaviUe,  Dr.  267 
Scheyrer,  — —  133 
Schley,  Winfield  S.  196 
Schurz,  Carl  276 
Scott,  Walter  60 

Winfield  104,  105 
Sedgwick,  Henry  Dwight  253 

Seguin, 79 

Seward,  William  H.  126, 139,  140 

Seymour, 10 

Shadrach,  102 
Sheppard,  Joel  F.  22 

Sherlock, 165, 167 

Simmons,  William  A.  161,  196,  262 

Sims,  Thomas  102 

Simms,  William  Gilmore  263 


Index. 


305 


Singer, 70 

Slociun, 290 

Smith,  Avis  (  Richards)  32 

Dana  269 

Darius  80,  109,  269 

James  232 

Jerome V.C.  Hi 

Otis  31,  80,  108 

WilUam  205 
Snow,  Capt.  189, 190 

Jonathan  191 
Somes,  John  53 

John  C.  49 
Soper, 291 

Edmund  9,  50,  228,  231 

Ehza  M.  T.  9 
South, 94 

James  40 
Souther,  Laban  92 
Sparrow,  B.  C.  190,  198 
Spear,  John  M.  68,  203 

Spense, 182-184 

Sproul,  Arthur  E.  159 

Stagg, 225 

Standish,  Miles  250,  270,  291 
Sterling,  Auburn,  Mrs.  270 
Stetson, 80 

Albert  (Holbrook),  Mrs.  50,  228 

Amos  52,  86 

Amos  W.  13,  16,  44,  50,  86 

A,  Warren  52 

Caleb  31,  40,  41,  50,  80,  86,  101,  212 

Henry  153 

Loring  75 

Major  51,  54 

Mary  40 

Rhoda  51 

Susannah  (Hunt)  31,  50 

Warren  143 
Storrs,  R.  S.  41,  75,  205,  245 
Stowe,  Harriet  Beecher  110 
Stratton,  William  D.  137 
Strauss,  Johann  79 
Strong,  Alexander  130 
Sumner,  Charles  100,  101,  106,  110,  115, 

120-125,  159 
Tapley,  A.  P.  132 
Taylor,  Bayard  1 1 1 

John  232 


Taylor,  Zachary  90,    100-102,    106,  232, 

233 
Terrill,  Jacob  40 
Terry,  James  S.  234 
Thatcher,  James  63 
Thayer, 44 

Abraham  108,  209 

Abram  18,  22,  26 

Ben.  66,  90,  91 

Benjamin  B.  15,  26 

Chapin  29 

Col.  21,  41,  54,  67 

Eben  C.  40 

EU  70,  86,  126-128 

EUsha  43 

Elisha  N.  40 

George  L.  132 

Gideon  52,  231 

Harvey  83 

Hezekiah  83 

Isaiah  24 

Josiah  12,  29 

Lewis  83 

Minot  22,  30,  41,  49,  52,  53,  67,  295 

Rachel  49,  53 

Simeon  83 

Stephen  66 

W.  G.  146 

William  141 
Thomas, 221,234 

George  232 
Thompson,  Edwin  67,  69,  71 

Gilman  40,  74,  77,  93,  109,  233 

Granville  94,  98,  137 
Thoreau,  Henry  D.  261 
Tilden, 56,  75, 294 

Atherton  29 

Atherton  W.  12, 26, 29,  54, 69,  88,  97, 232 

Francis  H.   13,  26,  29,  75,  81,  97,  232, 
269 

Louis  E.  267 

Thomas  13,  29,  71,  77,  83,  87,  88 

Thomas  W.  109 
Tirrell,  Abner  D.  36 

Augustus  267,  268 

David  34 

David  J.  22 

Elbridge  24 

Eliphas  36 


3o6 


Index. 


Tirrell,  Franklin  34,  77 

Jacob  36 

Minot  55 
Torrey, 87,  229,  234 

Alexis  147 

Lemuel  128 

Phillips  25 

Turner  71,  86 

Sumner  147 
Tilman,  Eben  131 

Joseph  131 

Trescott, 132 

Trott, 151,  152 

Charles  141 

Charles  R.  132,  136,  146 

Rufus  K.  40,  85 
Tufts, 91 

Augustus  30 

Cotton  27,  28,  30,  132,  227,  295 

Mercy  26 

Quincy  26,  30 

Susan  26 
Tufts  &  Whittemore  16,  23,  25,  54,  57,  70, 

91,  107,212 
Turner, 174 

Hez.  232 

Tuttle, 158 

Tyler,  John  66 

Van  Buren,  Martin  66,  88,  90 

Van  Dyck, 174 

Vaughn, 142 

Vest,  Sen.  241 
Vickers,  George  40 
Vinal,  Dexter  40 
Vining, 234 

Noah  89,  128,  233 
Vinson,  John  232 
Vinton, 227 

John  Adams  63 

Josiah  22,  55 

Mary  40 
Wade,  Atherton  40 

Harriet  40 
Wales, 79,  155,  204,  209,  239 

Asa  B.  21,  22,  55,  86, 90, 98, 106-108,  233 

Elisha  40 
Walker,  Roscius  R.  76,  86,  146 

Russell  146,  155 
Walsh, 191 


Warren, 61 

(Ball),  Mrs.  97 

Lewis  97,  98 

William  79 
Washburn,  Emory  115 
Washington,  Booker  220 

George  115,  137,  139,213,289 
Waterer,  Anthony  274 
Waters,  Jo.  232 
Watson,  Thomas  A.  67 
Webb, 44,  268 

Asa  22,  54,  70,  80,  212,  266,  295 

Charles  Henry  22,  266 

Christopher  27,  54,  91 

Henry  43 

Samuel  27,  228 

Thomas  22,  38,  43,  265 

Thonus  C,  21,40 
Webster,  Daniel  53,  67,  89,  100,  101,  103- 
105,  117,283,290 

Fletcher,  Mrs.  117 
Wedger  &  Hyde  193 
Welsh,  David  39,  41 

John  C.  39,  40 

Joseph  40 

West, 174 

Weston, 175,  220,  295 

Hervey  E.  97  _ 

Maria  72 

Warren  24,  28 

Warren  (Hunt),  Mrs.  31 
Wheelock,  Amos  76 
Wheildon,  W.  W.  137 

White,  105,  117,  225,  226,  231,  234 

239 

Alden  19,  78 

Amos  233 

Amos  S.  70,  74,  75,  79,  96,  134,  135, 143, 
147,  151 

Benjamin  F.  100,  128 

Elihu  51 

Eliot  28,  51 

George  19,  78,  79 

James  27,  86 

Jonathan  £.  21 

Joseph  151,  152 

Loring  40 

Naaman  Si,  74,  91 

Nehemiah  22,  40 


Index. 


1^7 


White,  N.  L.  40 

Oran  128,  233 

Samuel  227 

Sanford  24 

Whiting, 193 

Whitman, 36 

Whitmarsh,  Freeman  96 

John  21,  26 

Ssmuel  21 
Whitney, 41,  137 

Henry  A.  159 
Whiton,  Bela  118 

Morris  268 
Whittemore, 91 

Augustus  30 

James  27,  30,  295 

Quincy  30 
Whittier,  John  G.  60 
Wild,  John  40,  105 
Wildes,  John  38,  43,  44,  265,  290 
Willey,  Theodore  P.  270 
Williams, 239 


Williams,  Chauncey  25,  32-33 

John  M.  S.  127 
Willis,  George  86 

Henry  15 

Tilley  24,  79 
Wilson,  Henry  262 
Winsor,  Justin  63 
Winthrop,  Robert  C.  100 
Wilson,  Henry  110, 115,  116, 125, 126, 129, 
262 

Witte, 194 

Woods, 261 

John  D. 22 
Worster,  Edwin  P.  26,  97 

Ezekiel  26,  86 

Henry  97 

John  97 

Thomas  97 
Wright,  Justin  76 

Solomon  76 
Young,  Harvey  193 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 

Fine  schedule:  25  cents  on  first  day  overdue 

50  cents  on  fourth  day  overdue 
One  dollar  on  seventh  day  overdue. 


^ 


tlBRARY  USE 

MAY  30  1858 
MAY  3  019:3 


LD  21-100m-12,'46(A2012sl6)4120 


0^^ 


MlTJTSro 


I 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


